


Memorī idō no Jutsu

by SupernaturalHearts



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Het, M/F, M/M, M/M/M, Male Harem, Multi, Romance, Sexual Content, Slash, Slow Build, Violence, eventual polyamory, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2018-03-21 01:31:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 62,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3672495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupernaturalHearts/pseuds/SupernaturalHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night Mizuki tricked little Naruto into stealing the forbidden scroll from the Hokage, the Kage Bunshin wasn't the only Jutsu he learned from the scroll. Using his new Jutsu, he unknowingly drags Team 7 through the best and worst times in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
> 
> Beta: Reenan Lefey (If you like my fic(s) check her's out on FF.net, she has some great ones.)

**Chapter 1**

                    

The Village Hidden in the Leaves had been unusually quiet for days. One would think that a bit of peace and quiet would be relaxing, but in a village full of shinobi this could only have been the calm before the storm. This particular storm went by the name Naruto.

Naruto had been practicing a new jutsu. The jutsu in question was called the Memorī Idō no Jutsu. Naruto had learned it the night Mizuki had tricked him into stealing the Scroll of Sealing and then promptly forgot all about it in the excitement of graduating. Memorī Idō no Jutsu was supposed to allow the user to be able to peek at another's mind. There was more to the explanation but because Naruto is Naruto he didn't have the patience to read the rest.

He practiced the jutsu on his own on various animals around the village until he became proficient enough to feel he was able to try it out on a person (that and seeing into an animal's mind just wasn't as interesting as he thought it would be.) then he had to figure out just who he would use it on. Who would be the best person to learn from?

So now here he is at the usual meeting spot for team 7 waiting on their once again late Sensei. For once he was sitting at the bridge quietly thinking when that Jutsu popped into his head. All three teammates were waiting on their Sensei. The raven haired boy and pink haired girl were watching their blonde teammate. One with an indifferent look on his face but mentally cautious thinking it might be part of a prank. The other almost looked worried, she'd never seen her teammate sit for so long quietly.

For three hours the two of them watched their blonde teammate, with a frown on his face, stare at nothing. He was sitting cross legged and leaning against one of the railing posts. It wasn't like he was still the whole time either. His knee bounced from time, he tapped his fingers against his leg, scratched an itch or pulled at his hair. Though it all though he was quiet and didn't acknowledge his teammates at all.

When Kakashi finally showed up in his usual puff of smoke and 'Yo' as a greeting, Sakura was the only one to jump up and yell about him being late. It took him a moment to realize that something was wrong this morning and when he finally lifted his eye from his book he took in the appearance of Sasuke who look fine, Sakura looked like herself but then it clicked. It was much too quiet. That's when he noticed his usually loud blonde student sitting a little ways away from them leaning against a railing post with his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

The older man slipped his book into his weapons pouch and walked over to his student while the other two followed shortly behind him. He crouched down in front of the boy balancing himself on the balls of his feet. Looking him over there didn't seem to be anything visibly wrong with him. Same bright blue eyes, just a little unfocused. Same tan skin, no paleness just some dark smudges under his eyes (probably training late into the night again). Deep even breaths. If his eyes were closed the older man would think he was sleeping.

"Naruto."

"…"

"Naruto!" This time when Kakashi called his name louder and a bit sharper than before. The blonde looked up his eyes clearing as he focused on his Sensei's exposed dark eye.

"Eh? Kakashi-Sensei when did you get here?" Was the subdued reply.

"Well, you were so deep in thought that you didn't even notice me," he said poking the boy on his hitai-ate. "Or hear Sakura yell. Is something wrong?"

"No I was just thinking about….." He stopped suddenly and turned a bright happy grin on his Sensei before jumping up.

That's it. I can use it on Kakashi-Sensei, he knows a ton of different Jutsu maybe I can learn some using this. The blonde thought to himself.

"Sensei can I show you this new Jutsu I learned? Please, please, please." He begged.

"Well…" Kakashi hedged but he didn't really want to say no after seeing Naruto brighten up like he did. "I supposed but you have to be quick we need to get to training and it better not be anything like your Sexy Jutsu."

"I'll be fast and no I promise." He was jumping up and down excitedly.

Sakura and Sasuke stood on either side of their Sensei to see what he was going to do. One ready to hit him if he pulled anything perverted and the other watching to see if it would be anything useful though he doubted it.

"Thanks Kaka-Sensei. Alright here we go." He stopped bouncing and concentrated on building chakra. He made five hand signs and Kakashi's eye widened and he wanted to stop his student but it was as if everything but the blonde was going in slow motion and then it was too late.

"Memorī idō no Jutsu."

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura watched as the blonde slumped to the ground before everything went black around them. They could see each other but there was no ground beneath their feet, no scenery and no sky.

"Tawagoto! You two look at me." They looked up questioningly at the unnaturally serious Jounin. "I don't know what he was trying to do but I know this Jutsu it can be dangerous. If it works we'll be seeing Naruto's memories, the important ones that have an impact on him. I know a little bit about what we may see but I need you two to swear you will never discuss what you may learn here with no one ever. If later on you feel like you need to talk to someone you can try to talk to Naruto and if not him than me or the Hokage." He stopped talking when, all of a suddenly they were in a clearing. A blonde man and a red headed women were kneeling in front of a small alter holding a baby. He has wisps of bright yellow hair and three whisker makings on each cheek.

The blonde man would have looked like he was holding the red haired women if it weren’t for the long dull gray nail impaling the two and keeping them in place. Three sets of eyes followed the direction of the nail to where it was attached to a paw covered in fiery red fur. They followed it up to the creature towering above them all. Two looked on in fear and one with sorrow.

"Who are they Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura whispered. She could guess but she wanted to confirm before she assumed anything.

He glanced down at his two students not wanting to pull his attention from the image. They were blurry and he had to blink to clear the unshed tears from his eye.

"Naruto. The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina. Naruto's parents." He watched Sakura's eyes widen and her mouth drop open. Unexpectedly Sasuke displayed surprise and amazement also though he was able to keep his mouth from dropping open. Sakura opened her mouth to ask more questions presumably but was interrupted by a soft spoken voice.

**"Don't look so sad… Minato. I'm… I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's… our son's… birthday. Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets… It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up." Kushina said to the blonde man.**

**Naruto...don't be a picky eater, eat a lot and grow big and strong! Take your bath everyday...go to bed early and sleep well. Study hard on your Ninjutsu...I was never very good at it...maybe you will...everyone is good at some things and not so good at others...and if things don't go so well...don't get so depressed. At the academy, listen to your teachers. Make friends! It doesn't matter how many...just make sure that they're people you can really trust...and a few is enough! Regarding the Three Prohibitions of the shinobi, be careful when you loan and borrow money, make sure to save your missions pay carefully, and no drinking alcohol until your 20...too much sake is harmful for your body. As for girls...well...I'm a girl so I don't really know what to say...but sooner or later, you'll want a girlfriend and that's normal...just...don't fall for a strange one...try to find someone...like me. Oh...one more thing...watch out for Jiraiya-sensei...dattebane!**

**"Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you." She stopped talking, tears streaming down her face.**

**"Naruto… This is your dad. Listen… To your motor-mouth mother."**

They watched as the Yondaime looked over to someone outside the barrier. They followed his gaze to see the Third Hokage. They heard the Yondaime tell him that he wanted his son to be seen as a hero to the village not as the container to the Nine-Tailed Demon. Both young teens gasped but didn't say anything as they watched Naruto's parents fall to the ground dead and a black mark like a tattoo appeared on the infant's stomach. The scene faded and they were left in the dark again only able to see each other.

Kakashi looked down at his two students who were just standing next to him unmoving. Sakura had tear tracks down her cheeks and Sasuke didn't appear as unaffected as he tried to look. Sasuke was the first to speak.

"Kakashi, If Naruto was a baby when that happened, how are we seeing it since it's his memories and what exactly did happen?" Leave it to the genius to ask the hard questions but he had a theory.

"Well, first I'm not quite sure but my theory is since the sub-conscious remembers everything even if we don't we can still see it. He was there and everything happened in front of him. Second the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi in Naruto and sacrificed his life doing it. And before you say anything I know what they teach you but it was decreed by the Third that the information on the Kyuubi and Naruto be considered an S Class secret and anyone caught speaking of it would be severely punished."

"Does he know?" Sakura asked.

"About his Parents? No, you were taught about all the Hokage and their accomplishments so you know how many enemies the Yondaime had, it was kept from him for a reason and myself and a few others are the only ones who know who his parents are. Sasuke you'd do well to remember this but his is also the last of a once great clan that was wiped out. You two have more in common than either of you know. In fact I think in light of all this it's time for all of you to know some truths." He stopped when he was once again interrupted when they appeared in the next scene.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Does he know?" Sakura asked.

"About his Parents? No, you were taught about all the Hokage and their accomplishments so you know how many enemies the Yondaime had, it was kept from him for a reason and myself and a few others are the only ones who know who his parents are. Sasuke you'd do well to remember this but his is also the last of a once great clan that was wiped out. You two have more in common than either of you know. In fact I think in light of all this it's time for all of you to know some truths." He stopped when they appeared in the next scene.

**Naruto 3 Days Old:**

When the next scene appeared it showed a sleeping baby Naruto. Mikoto holding a baby Sasuke and Itachi standing next to her were looking into the room full of babies.

**"Sasuke, Itachi. Meet Naruto. I hope you two become the best of friends just like me and Kushina." She said to the sleeping baby in her arms.**

**"Time to go Itachi."**

Sasuke looked up to Kakashi questioningly. "Kushina and your mom were very good friends like she said. Kushina was so excited to find out that Naruto would be born shortly after you were and they were going to raise you together in the hopes you'd be best friends."

**Naruto Age 3:**

**"Why does everyone hate me Jiji?" Asked Naruto. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork to gaze at the blonde child sadly.Naruto was sitting in a chair in front of the Sandaime's desk looking at the floor and kicking his feet back and forth.**

**"I don't hate you Naruto. They just don't understand, one day you'll show them that you are not what they think you are. I know what will make you feel better. How about I take you out for some ramen when I'm done?"**

**"Okay Jiji."**

The new scene showed a very small, very empty room. A small shivering bundle wrapped in a threadbare blanket with only a tuft of blonde hair peeking out from the top. It was faint but with as quiet as the three shinobi were, they could hear the soft sobs.

**"Why do they hate me? What did I do wrong? I don't wanna be alone. I just wanna be loved."**

It was a soft litany repeated over and over. Sakura, once again with tear stained cheeks looked up at her teacher, shaking her head back and forth.

"Sensei I don't want to see anymore. Please." She pleaded with the older man who just looked sad.

"I'm sorry Sakura but I don't know how to undo this Jutsu. And as much as I don't want to see anymore either, even though I've seen what he's been through, I think you both should see that you've judged him unfairly. There is a reason why people act the way they act. Sakura, you were influenced by you parents and peers to act the way you do. Sasuke, what your brother did made you into the person you are today. Naruto has been through a hell neither of you will ever know personally but you will see it firsthand." They turned back to the scene.

It now looked to be mid-day and Naruto was walking down the dusty road with his head down and his eyes shielded by his bangs. Every person he walked past glared and scowled. He pretended like he didn't see them. Pretended that he didn't hear the names they called him.

**"Monster."**

**"Demon."**

**"Murderer."**

He kept walking through it all not acknowledging any of it until something he saw made him stop in his tracks. A boy about his age was giggling, walking in between two adults presumably his parents. The women caught him looking at her family and shot him a venomous look before ushering her family quickly away from the child. He dropped his gaze back to his feet and began running and didn't stop until he reached the top of the Hokage Monument and sat on the head of the Fourth.

"He's been going up there for this long and he doesn't even realize it's his father he takes comfort from," Sasuke commented. Kakashi looked over to the young Uchiha. It was the most emotion he'd ever seen on his face and despite the circumstances he was optimistic that maybe now he'd be able to get through to these two and maybe help Naruto out in the process.

They watched various scenes as he was berated and called names everyday by adults and children alike. With each scene Sakura felt worse and worse for how she'd treated her teammate. She silently promised to apologize to him and do better at being his friend.

Sasuke on the other hand refused to show any pity. He knew his teammate well enough to know that pity would not be welcome. He was confused as to why he felt the need to hug him and give him some sort of comfort.

They watched the next scene intently when it showed Naruto running as fast as his little legs could carry him. They could hear the harsh ragged breaths as he kept running looking over his shoulder every so often at something none of them could see. It wasn't until he tripped and fell that they saw what or rather who was chasing him. Three civilian men appeared in the image surrounding the fallen blonde.

"October 10th, the day he turned four." Kakashi said solemnly.

"How…?" Sasuke questioned. Kakashi just nodded to the image where and ANBU in a dog mask had shown up and scared off the men. Naruto stayed laying on the ground curled in a fetal position, his arms covering his head.

"You'll notice no shinobi ever hurt him even if they did look away from what was happening. The ANBU are the ones that tried to watch out for him. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to talk to him by order of the counsel and we couldn't interfere with anything unless a crime was being committed."

"We?"

"I was part of ANBU and I'm the one who found him that night." He replied remembering how tiny the blonde felt when he picked him up. He was shaking in fear and covered in bruises and scrapes. He took him to the Hokage's office that night and cleaned him up before bringing him back to the orphanage.

**"Thank you Inu." The young boy said.**

**"You're welcome Naruto. You better go inside and get some rest."**

**Naruto Age 5:**

The image went blank once more and none of them said anything this time, all of them lost in their own thoughts and the next time it came back it showed Naruto laying on the top of the Fourth's head watching the stars until another ANBU appeared.

**"Urufu, What are you doing here?" The blonde asked with a confused look on his face.**

The ANBU walked closer to the boy who had stood up and faced him. When he got close enough Sasuke could see the mask finally and couldn't contain a gasp of surprise.

**"Naruto, I have some bad news. I have to go now and I won't be back."**

**"Like a mission?"**

**"Not quite. I won't be able to come back. I just wanted to say good bye, I didn't want you wondering why I left you alone. It's not by choice that I leave. I do need you to do me a favor though and keep it a secret." The boy nodded.**

**"You have to give me your word. I'll know you won't tell anyone if you give me your word because a ninja never goes back on his word right?"**

**"Alright Urufu I give my word I'll do whatever you ask and I'll keep it a secret."**

**"You will probably be at the academy with a little boy name Sasuke Uchiha. Can you watch out for him for me? I won't be able to do it myself, can I trust this mission to you."**

**"I can do that Urufu."**

**"Good I'm counting on you Naruto. I have to go now. Good bye."**

Before the ANBU could leave Naruto ran over to him and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's waist and buried his face in his stomach. He looked up to find the other looking out over the village. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by something wet on his cheek. He thought it might have started raining but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Another drop fell before he realized what it was.

**"Urufu, are you sad because you have to go and will miss everyone?" He asked innocently.**

**"Yes Naruto. I'm going to miss the village, Sasuke and you."**

**"Don't worry I'll take care of Sasuke for you and I'll miss you too. Thank you for helping me."**

**"You're welcome Naruto. I really have to go now and don't forget your promise." He saw the boy nod and he Shunshined away.**

"What the hell is going on Kakashi? Does Naruto know who that was?" Sasuke exploded once they were surrounded by darkness. He couldn't believe what he had seen. His brother had protected the blonde and yes he should have realized something like that might happen after what Kakashi said before but Itachi was talking about leaving and not coming back. He never would have expected to see his brother talking to Naruto the night of the massacre. His brother had been crying but he hadn't shed a tear in front of Sasuke. Now he was even more confused than before. Was it an act? Why would his brother try to trick Naruto of all people into spying on him? He forgot his wanting to comfort his teammate and now he just wanted to question him to find out what he knew.

"I don't know what that was honestly, and I don't think he knows. He still doesn't know I was one of the ANBU who helped protect him." Kakashi said shaking his head, bewildered.

**Naruto Age 6:**

The Sandaime was walking with Naruto in the next scene.

**"Tomorrow you'll be starting at the Academy and with how things are going at the orphanage I figured it was time for you to have your own place. The orphan funds will take care of your rent and utilities until you become a Genin and take on missions. By then you should be able to earn enough money to pay for everything on your own." He explained.**

He handed the smaller boy a set of keys and led him up some stair to an apartment door. The blonde unlocked the door and stepped inside the Third following behind him. None of them had ever stepped foot in Naruto's apartment so this was the first time they were seeing it. It wasn't much, it was small and a bit run down but furnished. There was on large room that combined a kitchen and living/bedroom and a small hall with a door at the end which was presumably the bathroom. In the living area was a single bed situated under a large picture window that looked out on the Hokage Monument. The kitchen was smaller than the living area and had a table with two chairs. The Third handed him an envelope.

**"There's some money in there for food I left you a few things to get you by until you can go shopping tomorrow after class. The linens on the bed are new and your clothes have been brought over from the orphanage, I put them away myself. I wish I could stay longer Naruto but I have too much work to do. Have a good night and let me know how your class goes."**

**"Thank you Jiji. Good night."**

They watched as he closed the door after the Hokage left and removed his shoes before stepping further into the apartment. He stopped and hesitated for a moment then shook his head and went over to the bed and sat down. He leaned against the window and looked up at the heads of the Hokage. Silent tears made their way down his whisker scarred cheeks and he sat like that for what seemed like hours but had in fact only been a few minutes. He raised his hands and wiped the tears away.

**"No more. I will not cry anymore." He vowed to the empty room.**

He stood once again this time going to the chest of drawers and pulling out his pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom. The scene went dark again.

There were many more scenes of the same verbal and physical abuse but this time they were intertwined with him constantly getting thrown out of stores, sold bad food and over charged for everything. It explained why he ate so much ramen.

Naruto Age 12:

They watched as he went through his first day of class and meeting the rookie 9. He would occasionally laze about with Shikamaru, eat with Chouji and play various pranks with Kiba. Sasuke watched his and the blonde's rivalry in a new light now with additional information. Before he knew what he did now, he always thought the younger boy hated him, but looking at it now Naruto was baiting him into opening up even if it was to his own detriment. And Sasuke could admit, if only to himself, that he took a lot of his anger out on the blonde just for the way he acted. He never bothered to see that there was no real malice or anger coming from the other boy. It never reached his tone or eyes no matter what words were spoken.

They watched as he failed the Genin test again and sat outside the Academy and Mizuki walking over to him.

**"Iruka-Sensei's tough, but he's not against you."**

**"Then why? Why only me?"**

**"He wants you to be strong with all his heart, but that will never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you, ya know? No parents…no family."**

**"But…this time I really wanted to graduate."**

**"Then I guess I have to tell you."**

**"Huh?"**

**"It's a secret, but I'm gonna let you in on it."**

The scene changes again but without a pause this time.

**"Let's see. The first one is…multi shadow clone jutsu. Aaaaah! Not this again! It's my worst jutsu!"**

**"Uh?"**

Iruka shows up in the image.

**"It's all over. He he he he he."**

**"Te he he he he. "**

**"Huh?"**

**"Caught me already? Not bad. Your quick sensei. I only had time to learn one technique."**

**"Listen Iruka-sensei! I'm gonna show you this amazing jutsu and you're gonna let me graduate then everything will be okay! That's the way it works right? Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes."**

**"Huh?! Where'd you get that idea?!"**

**"Mizuki-sensei told me about it. Believe it! He told me where to find the scroll and this place…"**

**Multiple kunai come flying out of nowhere and they watch as Iruka shoves Naruto out of the way.**

**"I see you found our little hide away."**

**"So that's the way it is huh? I should have known!"**

**"Naruto! Give me the scroll now!" Mizuki yelled from a nearby tree.**

**"Wait a minute! What's going on here!?"**

**"Naruto! Iruka is just trying to scare you 'cause he doesn't want you to have the scroll."**

**"Huh!?"**

**"Stop lying Mizuki! Don't let him trick you Naruto!"**

**"Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh I'll tell you who's really lying."**

**"No Mizuki!"**

**"They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto. Since the decree twelve years ago."**

**"What decree?"**

**"Everyone knows except you. Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now. He'd do anything to shut me up!"**

**"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?"**

**"Don't tell him it's forbidden!"**

**"The decree is no one can tell you the nine-tail fox is inside you!"**

**"Naruto! Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that can put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself for his own power!"**

**"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body! You are the nine-tails fox!"**

**"STOOOP IT!"**

**"They've all been sneaking around hiding things from you your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt! Like they hated you for just being alive!"**

**"No! No no no no!"**

They watched as Mizuki threw a giant shuriken at Naruto and Iruka moved into it way protecting Naruto and getting hit himself.

**"Why?"**

**"My…My parents…After they died there was nobody to…Compliment or acknowledge me…I always acted like an idiot…Just to get people's attention. Since I wasn't good at things like learning or doing homework. It was better than being nothing so I just kept acting like an idiot. It was so painful."**

**"Naruto you must have also been in a lot of pain. I'm sorry Naruto if only I had done a better job you would never had to feel like that."**

Naruto just stared up at his teacher in shock and then got up and ran. Then Mizuki started talking again.

**"Naruto isn't the type to have a change of heart. I think he's planning to use that scroll to get revenge. You saw those eyes earlier. The eyes of a real demon."**

**"Naruto isn't like that."**

**"Well that doesn't really matter. I'll kill Naruto and take the scroll then I'll come back for you."**

Naruto was hiding behind a tree not too far from the two teachers.

**"You'd even transform into the thing that killed your parents just to protect him."**

**"You idiot I won't let you have that scroll. Naruto and I are the same!"**

**"If you use the skills in that scroll you can do whatever you want. There's no way that demon fox wouldn't try to use the power of that scroll. Unlike what you're assuming."**

**"Yeah. The demon fox would do that. But Naruto is different. He is… I've acknowledged him as one of my excellent students. He may not be the hardest worker and he is clumsy and no one accepts him. He already knows what it's like to feel pain inside the heart. He isn't the Kyuubi. He is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village. He is Naruto Uzumaki."**

Naruto listened to the two shinobi from his hiding place. His eyes were tear filled but he didn't allow one to fall.

**"Well whatever Iruka I said I'd take care of you later but I've change my mind."**

Mizuki prepared to attack Iruka but before he could Naruto stopped him.

**"You shouldn't have done that." Mizuki told the boy as he was getting up.**

**"Don't touch Iruka Sensei, I'll kill you!"**

**"You idiot why did you come out. Run away!"**

**"I'll kill someone like you in one shot."**

**"Try it trash and I'll return the pain one thousand times over."**

**"Then do it demon fox."**

They watched him do the hand signs.

**"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

All three stared in shock at the sheer number of clones. They were surrounded from all sides as well as above.

**"Wha..? What's going on?"**

**"Weren't you gonna kill me with one shot?"**

**"Well then I'll start okay."**

**They watched as the thousand Naruto' beat Mizuki unconscious.**

**"I went a little too far." The boy said embarrassed.**

**"Naruto come here. There's something I want to give you."**

They watched Iruka take off his hitai-ate and place it on Naruto's forehead after removing his goggles.

**"Now Sensei?"**

**"Okay now you can open your eyes."**

**"Congratulations on graduating Naruto**."

"So that's how he graduated." Sasuke murmured to himself.

When it came to the 'incident', the day teams were called, he flushed slightly and was glad no one was watching. It really wasn't as bad as he made it out to be and he watched Naruto's reaction after that and saw Naruto eyeing him with a strange look Sasuke couldn't place, even after they had taken their seats again. He did wonder what the boy thought of it. If he hated it like it looked or if he thought something else.

The scene skipped to team introductions where Sakura commented that she actually looked like more of an idiot than Naruto. It went to the bell test next, where they all laughed at Kakashi's Thousand Years of Pain.

Then it was suddenly done. The scene faded to black and they were back in the bright sunlight on the bridge with their blonde teammate unconscious in front of them.

Sakura's eyes were red rimmed and puff from crying. She let out a relieved sigh when it seemed to be over but ran to her fallen teammate when she realized he was still lying there unconscious. Sasuke still looked as unmoved as he usually did except for a faint redness under his eyes. He followed Sakura kneeling next to his teammate's body. Kakashi went right to Naruto to check him out and determined that he was okay.

"Sasuke I have to go see the Hokage very quickly. Your house is the closest do you mind taking them there and waiting for me?"

The young raven nodded and got Naruto up onto his back to carry him to the Uchiha Compound, Sakura following behind him.

"If he wakes up before I get there do not say anything about what we saw or ask him any questions. Understand? We all will sit down and discuss this later." They both nodded and he Shunshined right to the Hokage's office to report on what happened.

In the Hokage's office Hiruzen listened to Kakashi finish reporting what had happened on the bridge this morning. He didn't like where this was going and sighed out a mouth full of smoke.

"I made it clear to Sasuke and Sakura that they could never speak of the things they saw to anyone but me, you, and Naruto but I'm afraid that we have no choice to tell him about his parents." The Third pulled his pipe away from his mouth and made to protest against it.

"With all due respect Hokage I went along with your decree and the counsel's but I cannot in good conscience keep this from him anymore and to be perfectly honest I don't want to keep it from him. With his two teammates and a hand full of other people including us knowing who his parents are now and we keep this from him now, when he finds out later in life he will feel betrayed by all of us. I don't even want to know what would happen if he felt betrayed by us as well as having to put up with the hatred of the villagers." He sighed wearily and wiped his hand over his exposed eye.

"I was trying to be polite and respectful but I'm telling you now, you can do what you like to me but I am going to tell him. I think he's old enough to know what the consequences could be if the information got out. But I trust him. I think there's more to him than he's ever let anyone see and this may help bring them all together specially Sasuke."

The Hokage examined the Jounin standing in front of him. He noted the tense posture, hands fisted and pure determination in his eye. He thought over what the younger man had said and couldn't fault him for wanting to do this. Kakashi had been adamantly against keeping everything from Naruto in the first place and he knew Kakashi wanted to be closer to the last connection to his Sensei.

"Alright Kakashi. You will make sure he knows what could happen if any of this reached the wrong ears. I won't punish you for this since I'm giving you permission. And tell him I'm sorry that I had to keep it from him and I hope he'll come see me when he's ready."

"Okay Hokage. I better go see if he's awake." He said and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

At the Uchiha residence. Sakura opened the door for Sasuke and followed him in. They toed off their shoes at the door and Sasuke walked into the living room still carrying the boy. He made it over to the sofa where he and his female teammate laid the blonde on the sofa. They moved the table out from in front of the sofa and Sakura sat on the floor sitting with her back leaning against it at the boy's feet. Sasuke stood next to the boy who looked like he was sleeping peacefully before moving toward the kitchen.

"Would you like some tea Sakura?" he asked and she looked up at him startled.

"Yes, please." She replied quietly.

He came back some time after that carrying a tray with four cups and a pot of tea. He sat next to her close enough that if he turned his head a little to the right he could see Naruto's face. They poured their tea and sat there sipping it quietly.

"Will he be okay?"

"I don't know, but if he's not we will make sure he will get better."

"Right. You know I hate myself a little bit for what I've done. I'm afraid he won't be able to forgive me even if I apologize."

"All we can do is try and be there."

"You're not usually this talkative what's wrong?"

"I've started to realize some things. To be honest I would like you a lot more if you weren't all over me all the time. Don't get me wrong I will probably never like you the way you want me to but things could be better. We are teammates we should be acting like it."

Sakura turned away from him and thought about what he said while drinking her tea. Kakashi chose that moment to pop in. "Still not awake?" the both shook their head negatively and he sat across from them on the floor and poured himself a cup of tea also. He sat there watching his two students. Sakura was staring down at the empty cup in her hands and Sasuke was watching Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi waited patiently for the questions to start.

"Does he really not have anyone?" Sasuke finally asked Kakashi who looked at him in surprise. That was not a question he was expecting.

"In terms of family, not that I know of. The Uzumaki clan was wiped out when his mother was still young and he is the last of the Namikaze clan since his father was an orphan. As for friends, well he has you two, me, he's very close to the Third, and then there's teams 8 and 10."

"Sensei, do you think he will forgive us?" Kakashi smiled at her.

"That's not something you have to worry about Sakura. Why do you think he takes all the abuse from the village and never retaliates or seems to hate them? He takes it because he knows it's misplaced emotions they are feeling and they don't understand so he lets them take their anger out on him and forgives them every time because they have all felt loss because of what is sealed inside him."

"He doesn't deserve that."

"No he doesn't and I'm glad to see you guys rethinking your actions. It's gotten a tiny bit better but only because he makes himself out to be an idiot, loud, obnoxious. He just wants people to see him for him not the demon and when he acts like he does people see him the troublemaker not him the container." As he finished speaking Naruto started to stir. "Remember not a word yet. Let me talk to him first."

The two moved off to the side to make some space for Kakashi to kneel next to the sofa. Naruto opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. Turning his head, Kakashi was the first person he saw. "What happened Kakashi-Sensei? Where are we?"

"First how do you feel and what's the last thing you remember?"

He sat up before answering. "I feel fine and the last thing I remember is doing that Jutsu that obviously didn't work or I did something wrong."

"No it worked the way it was supposed to. I'm not sure what you were hoping to accomplish but you pulled us into your memories Naruto."

He jumped up off the sofa and backed away from his team. "They know?" He asked Kakashi who nodded. "No no no, they aren't supposed to know. I can't… They won't…" He whispered to himself brokenly both his hands tugging at his hair while he started hyperventilating. Recognizing the signs of a panic attack, Sasuke was the one who went to Naruto who had backed himself into a corner.

"Naruto look at me." He said softly. When the boy didn't look at him he grabbed both his wrists and tugged them away from his hair. He place both his hands against his chest and spoke in a soft tone. "Okay you don't have to look at me just listen. Feel me breathing? You have to breathe with me or you're going to make yourself pass out."

With his next inhale Naruto took a deep breath matching Sasuke. During it all he never let the other boy's wrists go and rubbed soothing circles at his pulse points with his thumbs. He didn't take his dark eyes off his friend even after he saw him calming down.

"Sasuke, how did you know what to do for a panic attack?" Kakashi asked him curiously.

"I used to get them a lot after…It took me a while to figure out how to break myself out of them before I passed out." He answered while still keeping his breaths slow and steady. "Are you better now?" Naruto nodded and tugged at his hands to have Sasuke let him go.

Naruto lifted his head but kept his eyes trained on Kakashi who looked back at him the same as he always had. "Thank you," he told the other softly.

"Naruto, why won't you look at me or Sakura?"

"I don't want to see you guys look at me with their eyes. I don't understand why you're being so nice to me. You hate me."

"I'm sorry." This made Naruto look at him in surprise. He had never heard the Uchiha apologize to anyone. Ever. "I never hated you."

"But, you said…"

"I know. I lied."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later okay?" he whispered loud enough for the blonde to hear but no one else. He looked behind Sasuke to see Sakura walking over to them. Sasuke moved to the side to make room for her. Once she was within arm's reach she threw herself at Naruto hugging him around the neck and sobbing.

Completely thrown off he just stood there his arms at his sides. He threw a 'help me' look at Sasuke who smirked at him and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'isn't this what you wanted'. He mouthed a no at the raven haired boy. Sasuke looked at him with surprise and amusement. It seemed that he was learning a lot more about his teammate than he ever thought he would.

He finally took pity on him. "Sakura you should give him some space. He doesn't even know why you're crying." She backed off and wiped at her wet cheeks.

"I'm sorry Naruto."

"I don't get it why are you guys apologizing to me. I should be saying sorry for dragging you into this mess." They all looked at him incredulously.

"We're saying sorry for the way we've been treating you." Sakura replied.

"There was never any reason to apologize. I acted like an annoying moron was. I don't blame you for treating me like that." His two teammates shook their heads at him but didn't know what to say.

"That's very understanding of you Naruto, but I'm afraid I must apologize also. There are things I have had to keep from you. Not by choice but still… You might want to have a seat this talk might take a while." The three sat on the floor leaning against the sofa, the blonde sandwiched between the pinkette and raven. Kakashi sat across from them and took a deep breath before beginning.

"Well I guess it starts with who your parents are. Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki and your father was Minato Namikaze."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_"Well I guess it starts with who your parents are. Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki and your father was Minato Namikaze."_

He watched Naruto's reaction. He just sat there and thought about what his Sensei had just said. His father was the Yondaime Hokage. When that sank in his eyes widened comically and Kakashi snickered under his breath.

"Are you freaking serious Kakashi-Sensei? My Dad was the Fourth Hokage? The hero of the leaf. The one who put the Kyuubi in me." He saw the younger boy start to get upset.

"Calm down Naruto. It's not what you think. Because you were there the night your parents died, your subconscious stored the memory of your parents away and we got to see what their final words were. Would you like to hear what they said to you?"

The blonde calmed down considerably and nodded to his Sensei. So Kakashi repeated what they said word for word including that his father wanted him to be looked at like a hero. He told his student about what happened that night and how his parents had given their lives for their son and the people of the village. By the time the older man finished speaking Naruto was almost in tears. Sakura was sitting on one side holding his hand and Sasuke on the other leaning against him. He would never go so far as to hold the blonde's hand while there were people to see it, he could give some sort of contact to show his support.

He gave Kakashi a watery smile, squeezed Sakura's hand and nudged Sasuke's shoulder with his own in thanks. "So does this mean I might have more family around? Do you know?"

"Minato-Sensei was an orphan and Kushina-Nee's clan came from a place called Uzushiogakure no Sato, the Hidden Whirling Tides Village." He went on to tell them about the village and how it was wiped out.

"My Dad was your Sensei and why was Mom's villages wiped out?"

"Yes Minato was my Sensei. He was more than that too, like an adoptive father. After I lost my father, Minato and Kushina took it upon themselves to make sure I was taken care of, not that I didn't appreciate it. I loved them both like family and I miss them. They were both great people and loved by many. Her clan, the Uzumaki's, were masters of Fuuinjutsu. For that they were feared by many nations. The fall of Uzushiogakure will always be a one of our biggest failures." He stopped lost in his own thoughts.

….

The three students watched their teacher become immersed in his past. They all could see the pain he was in that he always kept hidden from the world. Naruto let go of Sakura's hand and nudged Sasuke again to get him to sit up so that when he moved the other wouldn't fall over. He got up and went and knelt in front of his teacher wrapping his arms around the Jounin's neck.

"Kakashi-Sensei, since my parents treated you like their own, I'll adopt you and you can be my older brother. We will be a family and none of us will be alone again."

Kakashi chuckled and wrapped an arm around the small boy while carding his free hand through soft golden spikes. "You are far too nice for your own good but I believe your parents would be proud of how strong you are and I think I would like that."

Naruto pulled back and looked at his teacher. It was the most open he'd ever seen the older man and he smiled at him in appreciation for letting him in. "You're wrong Sensei, I'm not strong. Not enough and not yet. But I'll get there and you help right? I have more of a reason now to become Hokage not just so everyone will acknowledge me but because, my dad, he was a great Hokage and I will be better."

"If anyone can do it, you can, but you still have a long way to go and you won't be able to do it by yourself."

"I know. You'll be there," he turned to look at his teammates. "And so will they." Sakura gave him a smile and a nod. Sasuke inclined his head and smirked at him though it was softer than normal.

"That's how it should be, never forget the words I said after the bell test. Now it's starting to get late and we have more to go over so you three can eat and get some rest, I think it's time I took some initiative and put you guys through some serious training. I know you've been patient Sasuke, so I'll let you ask him."

Naruto stiffened not sure he wanted to know what was coming next, there were too many things they could have seen. Things he never wanted anyone to know about. But, Instead of asking a question he told Naruto about one of his memories.

…

"I didn't know this before but my mom and your mom were friends. She brought me and my brother to see you in the hospital after the Kyuubi attack. I'm glad you're such an idiot sometimes." He said with a smirk. "We wouldn't have known any of this and you probably would have kept everything to yourself."

Naruto snickered. "Bastard, who knew you could actually put a sentence together with more than just one word. That was nice to know but Kakashi-Sensei said you wanted to ask me something."

"Urufu, what do you know about him?"

Secretly he was glad none of them brought up the abuse he went through because of the villagers. "If you're asking if I knew who he was then the answer's no. There's only one ANBU that I know and that's Kakashi-Sensei." The older man actually looked surprised and Naruto just shrugged and answered the unspoken question. "It's your scent. It's hard to explain scents. You smell like steel and I guess I'd have to say home. Something comforting and familiar. I could probably tell you who the rest were by smell also but since Urufu left and I'm assuming never came back I wouldn't be able to point him out. Why? Do you guys know who he is?"

"He was my brother. We saw your memory of the night he left. It had to be the night he killed everyone." Sasuke told them his face and voice once again cold and emotionless.

Naruto got up and went back to sit in between his teammates and leaned against Sasuke while he tried to remember anything he could about Sasuke's brother and compare it to the ANBU he knew. He frowned and shook his head. He turned his whole body in Sasuke's direction. "Okay Sasuke, don't get mad at me, I am going to talk this out because something doesn't add up to me and maybe you guys will see something I'm not. I'm not as stupid as people think I am but you three are smarter than me. So tell me exactly what memories of Urufu you saw."

"We only saw what happened the night he left." Sasuke answered for them. "I know Kakashi said the ANBU helped you out but are you saying there was more to it than that?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he knew I hated to be alone and when I had to get away from the villagers and I didn't want to go back to my empty apartment, I would go up to the top of the monument. He used to come up and sit with me when he had nothing to do and talk. You say that agent was your brother and your brother was the one who killed your whole clan. That doesn't sound right because I used to talk about being Hokage and what it means with him. He used to talk about how much he loved the village and wanted to protect it. He said he never wanted to be the Hokage but he liked protecting everyone from the shadows and that's why he was ANBU, even if he didn't like some of what he had to do as an agent."

"When he told me to look out for you I had assumed he was a family friend but now that I think of it I should have put two and two together. It make sense now the way he cried after asking me to watch out for you, but I don't see a brutal, cold hearted killer crying because they are leaving family or friends and home behind."

Naruto eyed his best friend and could see the wheels turning in his head as he pondered what was said. When Sasuke's eyes started tearing up Naruto stood quickly and grabbed Sasuke's wrist pulling him up, he knew the other boy would hate for anyone to see him that vulnerable. "Come on bastard we need more tea, you can show me where everything is and I'll make it." He grabbed the tray and cups and followed Sasuke into the kitchen giving Kakashi a look as he passed. When Sakura tried to stand and follow he told her to leave them be for a few minutes.

…

In the kitchen Sasuke leaned against the counter with his head bowed and his hair hiding his eyes. Naruto set the tray on the table and went to stand in front of the silent boy. He pulled Sasuke into a hug, pressing their cheeks together so he could speak low enough no one would hear him but the boy in his arms. "If you want to know what I think, your brother loved you and if he's still alive then he probably still does. Do you know why he killed everyone but you?"

"He said he did it to test his strength. He's still alive, he won't die until I kill him. He wants me to hate everything and get strong enough to kill him." He told the blonde in an unusually subdued voice.

"Does that sound like the person you saw in my memories? Does it sound like the brother you knew?" Sasuke just shook his head enough the other boy could feel it. "I'll help you Sasuke, I'll stay here by your side and help you figure this out and I won't let you lose yourself to hate. Hate will make you weak. It will blind you to everything. There is a reason I don't hate the village or my parents for doing this to me. Everyone has a reason for what they do and I'm sure your brother did too. Remember what Kakashi-Sensei said to us, look underneath the underneath and if we find out he really did do it to test his strength then I will help you get stronger and we will kill him."

The whole time he was speaking Sasuke just stood there in Naruto's arms listening. When he finished Sasuke wrapped his arms around the other boy. The only way Naruto knew anything was wrong was by the warm wetness against his cheek and the tight grip he had on the back of his jacket. Sasuke's breathing didn't change and he didn't sob, he just let the tears fall. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone."

Sasuke pulled away and wiped his face. He kept his eyes hidden by his bangs and went about making the tea. Naruto stood out of the way and watched him move around the kitchen. He was so focused on watching the other boy he almost missed the low reluctant 'thank you'. When everything was ready they reset the tray and he started following Sasuke back to the other room when he stopped.

"Sasuke?" Naruto had never seen Sasuke hesitant about anything before now and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Naruto, would you like to stay here tonight. I don't really want to be alone and I'm sure you don't want to either." The blonde knew how hard it must have been for Sasuke to admit to that so he didn't poke at him for showing some emotion.

"Are you sure? I know that you said you don't hate me but I don't want to stay and invade your space. I really would like to stay though." Sasuke nodded and kept going to the other room with the rest of their team. The two young teens sat back down and everyone refreshed their cups. No one brought up Itachi this time. They all knew how touchy that subject was normally and now with possible secrets added on to it didn't make anything easier for the dark haired boy.

…

Naruto was the first to break the silence, he never could handle it when things were so quiet, that's when the loneliness usually crept in. "Sensei, you said Mom came from a clan that were masters of sealing right? And since dad sealed the Kyuubi in me that means he knew sealing too."

"Your mother taught him everything she knew." He confirmed.

"Did he teach you sealing?"

The older man could see where he was going with his line of questioning. "He taught me some but not everything he knew. If you want to learn it I have a few scrolls you can begin studying but there is someone who knows almost as much as your parents did. Jiraiya one of the legendary sannin was your father's Sensei and he's your godfather."

Naruto was excited to hear about his father's Sensei and that Kakashi was going to help him learn Fuuinjutsu like his parents and clan. "Really? Where is he and can I meet him?"

Kakashi smiled at seeing the blonde's energy return. "He's not in the village. He's a spy master and author so he travels a lot and rarely enters the village. The last time he was here was just before you were born."

"Oh," His brightness dimmed a little with the revelation.

"I think the only thing left for us to go over is talking about all of this. I already spoke to Sakura and Sasuke about the consequences of telling anyone about anything that went on today but Naruto I know you're happy to know who your parents are and would like to tell people but you can't. As much as I'd like for everyone to know your heritage your father had too many enemies that are still alive and hold a grudge. So for now until the Hokage deems it safe it has to be kept between us. It's getting late so you all should eat and get some rest because tomorrow is when we get serious about your training and Naruto I'll bring those scrolls for you in the morning."

"Okay Kakashi-Sensei and thank you." He said with a smile. He nodded at the three of them and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The three young teens sat there for a few minutes in silence after their teacher left. Since Naruto was staying the night Sasuke figured they all might as well eat together and get used to this new team dynamic so he invited Sakura to stay for supper and hoped she didn't revert back to being a fangirl. Sakura grabbed the tray and followed the two boys to the kitchen.

…

"I'm sorry I don't have any ramen," he told his blonde friend who shrugged.

"Its fine I do like ramen a lot but I will eat other things too, it's just…I don't have much of a choice but to eat it all the time. It's cheap, easy to cook and won't spoil. The villagers give me a hard time when I shop and I use a henge when I can but some of the shops are run by former ninja so it can be hard." He told them his voice indifferent. Sakura was sitting at the table watching Naruto clean out the tea cups and pot and Sasuke was gather things together to cook.

"I'm sorry Naruto I wish you would have told us. We could have helped." Sakura told him.

"Don't take this the wrong way but there are very few people I trust and you two didn't give me any reason to believe that if I told you about the Kyuubi and how the villagers treat me, that you guys would treat me the same or worse. I'm glad that you guys took it as well as you did and understand that I am not It but honestly I expected worse."

Sakura opened her mouth to argue but Sasuke saw her as he turned from the stove and stopped her. "He's right and you know it. I gave him every indication that I hated both of you and Kakashi. And you were physically and verbally abusive." Her mouth shut with a snap and she looked down at her lap in shame. He turned back to the stove before he spoke again. "All of that stops now. We are a team and we will act like it. No matter what we will have each other's back. Kakashi-Sensei was right we don't abandon our teammates." The others were silent in the aftermath of a speech from none other than Sasuke Uchiha. He figured they were just stunned and turned back to the stove. When Naruto came to stand beside him, he eyed the blonde without turning his head and saw blue eyes shiny with unshed tears but a small genuine smile on his face. He bent his head and let out a small smile of his own.

He wasn't alone and for the first time since his clan was killed he felt the beginnings of happiness and hope. Things seemed to be getting better and his head wasn't full of thoughts of revenge. That didn't mean it wasn't full of unanswered questions though and while the rage he felt towards his brother wasn't all consuming at the moment, he was still angry and confused. Naruto had opened his eyes to the possibility of Itachi's, maybe not innocence but something else, and he was willing to help him find out. So he would stick by his friend and teammates side.

…

Sakura sat at the table watching her two teammates stand side by side without any of their usual banter or insults and they looked comfortable like that. Things were changing so fast, already Sasuke was talking more and glaring less and Naruto was quiet and still, not like he was brooding, just like he was content. She felt out of place and a little left out but she was starting to realize that they both had it pretty bad growing up and they had more in common with each other than she would ever have with either of them. It saddened her a little but she thought about what Sasuke had said and he was right. She would stand beside both of them and she would get strong enough to watch their backs.

They sat and ate in a comfortable silence and Sakura left shortly after they finished cleaning up the kitchen. After she was gone Sasuke led Naruto upstairs into a long hallway. There were two doors on one side and two on the other. There was one single door at the end of the hall. "The door at the end was my parent's room the one next to it on the left was Itachi's. Those are the only two rooms I would prefer you not go into. The one across from Itachi's room is mine and the two at this end are the guest rooms. You can have one of the guest rooms or you can stay in mine tonight."

Naruto looked at him in surprise. He never expected the offer to share a room. "If you really don't mind could I stay with you?" Sasuke nodded and lead them into his room. He went to a dresser and pulled out two pairs of pajamas and handed one to Naruto. The blonde boy pulled off his jacket, fishnet shirt and pants so he was only standing there in his boxers. That's when Sasuke came to a realization.

"Naruto, can I ask you a question?" He finished pulling on the sleep pants and turned to face the other boy. "Well you said the Kyuubi was sealed in you right? Well we've bathed together and in your memories the seal only showed after the Kyuubi was sealed in you. So where is it?"

Naruto grinned at him. "It only appears when I use chakra. Did you want to see it?" Sasuke nodded so he started channeling his chakra. Sasuke watched the swirling black mark appear. Once again his body seemed to move on its own and he found himself much closer to the blonde. He reached out his hand but hesitated at the last second looking at Naruto he waited for approval before lightly tracing his fingertips over the seal. The seal itself seemed to be warmer than the rest of Naruto's body and his fingers warmed at the feeling of the soft smooth skin under his touch.

Naruto watched Sasuke move his hand toward his stomach so he was expecting the touch. What he wasn't expecting was the way his body reacted to the touch. No one had ever touch the seal like that or wanted to. The feeling was so intense it caused him to suck in a sharp breath and on instinct he grabbed Sasuke's wrist to stop him from going any farther.

Sasuke's eyes jerked to Naruto's face. He wasn't sure what he did wrong. The blonde's eyes were slightly dazed and his face flush. "Naruto?"

His eyes snapped back into focus but his face didn't lose the blush. "Sorry. No one's ever touched the seal like that I wasn't expecting how it felt." He explained.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "How did it feel?" He asked hoping it wasn't bad and judging how deeply the blonde blushed he figured it was a very nice feeling.

"Uh…" He stopped and tried to think of how to explain it without grossing his friend out or sounding like a pervert. "It's very sensitive. It kind of tickles and at the same time not. It's not a bad feeling." After that touch he wasn't sure what to think but something in his mind shifted. He liked it. It might have been because Sasuke was the first person to touch him intimately or it could be because even after the way the other had treated him he was still the only person he was close to. But he really wanted him to do it again and that scared him a little.

Sasuke observed Naruto and for once couldn't tell what Naruto was thinking and he was starting to figure out he didn't mind touching his teammate as much as he thought he might. Sasuke had always had an aversion to touching or being touched and the only time he and Naruto really had any contact was during training and sparring.

The thought of touching Naruto in an intimate way like he just did didn't disgust him and he didn't know if he was expecting it to or not but he accepted it. His teammate was still young and not grown into himself yet so he wasn't beautiful or pretty but he was attractive both in looks and personality, if he ignored Naruto's loud obnoxious ways. Knowing who his father was gave him a glimpse of how the blonde would look in the years to come and since he was almost identical to the Fourth that was promising. Not that looks were everything but they were a part of the attraction. The first kiss they had even though accidental wasn't that bad and now he wondered what Naruto would do if he put his hand back on his stomach and tried that kiss again this time on purpose.

"Did you like it?"

Naruto lowered his head but still answered the question in a whisper. "Yes." He let go of Sasuke's wrist and backed away just in case his friend decided to come after him. Sasuke walked toward him following as Naruto walked himself into a wall. He stopped inches away and reached his hand out again but instead of just brushing his fingers against the toned stomach, he placed his whole hand against where the seal would be and felt that warmth seep into his skin again. He pressed lightly and watched the blonde gasp in surprise.

He left his hand where it was and kept the light pressure against Naruto's stomach. The other boy was panting heavily and his face flush. Sasuke paused and revised his earlier thought, now the boy before him was beautiful. He didn't even have to think twice about what he wanted to do, he just leaned in and captured firm damp lips. There was a second of hesitation before Naruto responded to the kiss. It wasn't their true first kiss and it wasn't experienced but it was nice. He knew it would only get better if they let it go that far and right now Sasuke wanted to, he wanted more with this person. The one who wanted to be his friend before anything else and never gave up, this person who tried to see past his cold mask, who wanted to stand beside him through everything, and that sounded so good.

More would come later though they had enough time. Right now he would take this and be happy and not think about anything else except warm lips against his and smooth skin under his hand.

Naruto pulled away panting against his lips. Sasuke licked his lips and ended up licking the blonde's at the same time which wrung a startled sound from Naruto's throat.

"Sasuke, you gotta stop. I can't. Take anymore." Naruto said in between gasps. Sasuke considered pressing his body against the blonde's but decided that would be wrong right now. He didn't want to push too far so he just gave the other a peck on the lips and moved back a step.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths to calm his body and nerves. That was something else and not what he was expecting. It wasn't bad, in fact it was nice and he wanted more but he needed to figure out what this was before getting into anything. He like the idea of being in that kind of relationship with Sasuke but he wanted it to be for the right reasons. Not because they were both looking for comfort or just because of bodily functions. When his breathing finally evened out he opened his eyes to see Sasuke standing patiently in the same spot.

"Thank you." He grinned at the raven's expression.

"For?"

"Not being afraid to touch me."

Sasuke scoffed. "Idiot." The insult was laced with amusement. "Come on, let's get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a long day." He put his pajama pants on but left his shirt off the same as Naruto and crawled into bed pushing far enough over for Naruto to climb in behind him. They said their good nights and turned away from each other but pressed their bare backs against each other. They fell asleep their bodies lined up perfectly and their feet tangled together.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 

_"Thank you." He grinned at the raven's expression._

_"For?"_

_"Not being afraid to touch me."_

_Sasuke scoffed. "Idiot." The insult was laced with amusement. "Come on, let's get to bed. Tomorrows going to be a long day." He put his pajama pants on but left his shirt off the same as Naruto and crawled into bed pushing far enough over for Naruto to climb in behind him. They said their good nights and turned away from each other but pressed their bare backs against each other. They fell asleep their bodies lined up perfectly and their feet tangled together._

Sasuke was the first to wake, his eyes snapping open, and his breath coming in quick pants. He had the same nightmare, memory, every so often since the slaughter of his clan. Over the years the memory had dulled and while it still affected him it wasn't as bad as it used to be. Last night's nightmare was like living the experience all over again.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his stomach turning at the sight of blood, and the bodies of his parents. The copper taste of blood was sharp on his tongue with every inhale and the smell was thick and cloying.

Sasuke closed his eyes against the memory and tried to center himself, but as soon as he did that his brother's voice echoed in his mind and his eyes, those cursed eyes, stared back at him from behind his closed eyelids.

_Curse me…Hate me…Run away…When you have the same eyes as I do, come before me._

The Mangekyō Sharingan. He knew what it was, what it did, and how to get it. It had taken Sasuke a long time and digging deep into the Uchiha Archives but he found it. When he did, it cleared up a lot of things Sasuke didn't understand.

Itachi's best friend. Shisui, who played and trained with Sasuke when Itachi was too busy. Shisui who looked like an Uchiha but didn't act much like one, he smiled, laughed and teased the brothers. He kept them from retreating behind their apathetic masks. Sasuke love him and missed him.

He had heard the rumors about his brother being accused of murdering Shisui but without enough evidence it was never proven. Back then Sasuke had no doubt his brother was innocent. After finding the truth about the Mangekyō Sharingan though, he knew Itachi was guilty.

Sasuke turned his head to look over at the blonde boy snoring away, half hanging off the bed. The tears and asking Naruto to look out for him had to be a trick. Itachi must have wanted Naruto to become his friend in order for Sasuke to kill him and gain the Mangekyō. That was the only explanation. He probably should distance himself from the other boy, just a bit. It was a shame that last night would have to be an aberration, but he had no intention of playing Itachi's game. Naruto could be an asset with some proper training though, best not to alienate him completely.

He wanted to kill Itachi even more now. His brother was playing with him, and since Naruto trusted Itachi as an ANBU, he used that trust to his advantage to get to Sasuke. Letting out an explosive breath he sat up and began poking at Naruto trying to wake him up. There was no more time to think; they needed to meet with Sakura and Kakashi and he needed to get back to training.

…

When Naruto refused to wake up, Sasuke tipped him off the bed. He landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ouch! What happened?" Came the pained question.

Sasuke poked his head over the side of the bed to look down at his teammate who was rubbing the back of his head. "Time to get up." He told Naruto and got up to walk over to dresser. He grabbed a set of clothes for Naruto and himself. He threw one set at Naruto and left the room to go change in the bathroom.

Naruto found himself in a plain black tee, one surprisingly without the Uchiha crest on it, and tan shorts. They ate a light breakfast and left to meet Sakura and their Sensei. They did all this without saying much of anything or bickering the way they usually might. It was odd for Sasuke to see Naruto not being an overly excitable idiot. Not that he minded, this Naruto was much easier for him to deal with. He could see that the blonde was still his usual happy self just not bouncing around like he normally would be.

When they had to walk through town it was a different story. His friends mask came back full force: the over the top smile, bouncing around, and nonstop chatter. Sasuke tuned him out like he normally did and just watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye.

He wanted to slap himself in the face. How could he have been so blind to not see how fake the whole act was?Naruto's smile was too wide and forced, his eyes were almost closed so you couldn't see them, and his chatter was about absolutely nothing. Then he started hearing the whispered comments as they passed. He had seen the looks towards his blonde teammate before but had been so wrapped up in himself he hadn't paid them any mind. He usually blocked everyone out unless he had no choice so he had never really heard what they said. It was degrading and he didn't know how the other boy put up with it.

Sasuke kept up his normal apathetic look and gave no indication he was listening to the villagers or Naruto. Naruto fell silent once more as they moved toward the training grounds. Before too long they reached their meeting place where Sakura was already waiting for them.

…

Sakura was sitting on the railing looking at her feet kicking back and forth. When she heard them approach she looked up and realized that she heard their footsteps, not talking or arguing. She looked at Sasuke first saying good morning like usual but without the fawning that normally went along with it. She was somewhat surprised but happy when he didn't ignore her and she looked at him adoringly, thinking that maybe the way to get him wasn't by doing what she normally did but by treating him as a member of the team and friend. She paused when she looked at her blonde teammate before she said good morning to him.

"Naruto, are you wearing Sasuke's clothes?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah I fell asleep at his house and didn't have time to go to my place to grab clean clothes."

"You should wear stuff like that more often, it looks good on you."

Naruto flushed in embarrassment at the praise. "Well I like orange but I wouldn't wear it on missions if I had a choice, I told you guys yesterday some of the stores are run by former ninja and I can't even get in those with a henge."

Sakura frowned in disapproval. "Would you like some help getting the stuff you need?" Sakura asked.

"I would appreciate it but I don't want you to go out of your way. I've already put enough on your shoulders with the secrets you have to keep now." He told them. Sakura hopped off the railing and slapped him upside the head though this time it wasn't as hard as she would have if it had been the day before.

"Don't be an idiot. We are a team, weren't you listening to Sasuke yesterday? We will help, not because you asked or we feel sorry for you. We will do this because we want to, and I know if we ever needed anything from you, you wouldn't hesitate to do it. Right Sasuke?"

Sasuke hesitated before answering. He was regretting everything he had said the day before. Sakura could only slow him down and befriending Naruto was playing into Itachi's hands. He nodded anyways, he didn't need them to start asking questions or pestering him if he refused. At least he got a reprieve from Sakura's fan-girl attitude. He wasn't going to fool himself into thinking the change was permanent though.

Naruto smiled happily at them and opened his mouth but was interrupted when Kakashi appeared out of nowhere.

"Yo." He said and wasn't greeted with the usual shouts of 'you're late'. His three students were standing together and getting along for once. All of them looking up at him crouched on the railing where he had appeared.

Naruto was the first to speak. "Kakashi-Sensei, aren't you early?"

…

"Well I suppose it may seem that way and I wanted to be here on time, but had to see the Hokage and, well, to make a long story short I needed to inform him of the new training regimen. So without asking any questions I need you three to keep any progress you make secret. Understand?"

When he got a nod from all three of them he continued. "Now, Naruto you're not going to like what I have to say but it's for your own good if you want get stronger. Your Taijutsu, to be honest, is horrible. I understand that this isn't your fault but it needs to be corrected. For today you are going to train with Sasuke, he can help correct most of the mistakes you make and help improve your form." Naruto scowled at his Sensei but didn't say anything knowing he needed all the help he could get. He just hated that it was Sasuke that he got that help from. They may be doing better as friends, discounting the incident last night that he couldn't even think about without blushing, but Naruto hated that he was still weaker than Sasuke.

Sasuke just smirked. He was feeling satisfied, Naruto may have huge chakra reserves and a chakra beast inside him but Sasuke was still stronger. "Let's go." Sasuke said as he turned to walk away.

Naruto glared at his Sensei one more time before following Sasuke to the training grounds. He listened to Kakashi tell Sakura that he was going to work with her on her Taijutsu skills as well.

Kakashi kept half of his attention on Sasuke and Naruto while working with Sakura. She did well with her Taijutsu but she had no stamina and tired easily. He watched his two students spar with an intense concentration. Every once in a while Sasuke would stop and correct Naruto's form by slowing down his movement and having him copy it until he could do it flawlessly. Then they would go back to sparring.

The morning went by quickly with Kakashi increasingly surprised at how fast Naruto was improving with in just a couple of hours. They stopped for lunch, all three students collapsing to the grass panting for breath. When they had rested enough, the four of them ate in companionable silence.

"Naruto, you're improving very well. If you keep this up we should be able to move you and Sasuke on to chakra control exercises." Naruto smiled brightly and was excited to finally be learning something new. Sasuke gave his signature smirk just glad to move on to something other than what they had been doing.

When they had finished lunch Kakashi set them back to their original training for a few more hours before stopping them. He told them to run five laps around the village to help raise their endurance and told them every day he would raise the amount of laps they had to run.

When they had completed that task they took a breather and Sakura reminded Sasuke that they had said they would help Naruto get his supplies. She sent Sasuke off to get weapons before grabbing a hold of Naruto and dragging him off to pick out clothes.

…

Naruto let Sakura take the lead, not really arguing with her about the outfits she had picked out. It didn't really matter to him what he wore. He was just happy to be out doing something nice with his teammates, well, teammate; Sasuke may have been out with them but he wasn't in sight.

When they finished, they headed to Naruto's apartment where Sasuke was waiting for them. Naruto took the bag from Sasuke and paid him for the supplies. He asked the other boy if he wanted to come in. Sasuke shook his head and left waving a hand as he did so. Sakura shook her head and followed Naruto in, carrying one of the bags for him. She looked around, slightly surprised at how tidy his apartment was. It wasn't spotless, but it was cleaner than what she would have expected from a 13 year old boy who lived alone. When he asked if she wanted to stay for supper, she declined. She slipped her shoes back on and got ready to go. Naruto thanked her for her help and closed the door behind her when she left.

Naruto went about putting everything away and started to make something to eat. Afterwards, he showered and got ready for bed. He lay there for a little while, thinking about his teammates and training, before letting sleep take him.

...

On days they had missions, they worked to complete them by lunch and afternoons were reserved for endurance training. On days they didn't have any missions, mornings consisted of Taijutsu training and after lunch was more endurance training. By the fourth day of their altered training regimen Naruto had caught up to Sasuke's level in Taijutsu and they resumed their rivalry, each boy trying to one up the other throwing in complex moves until they were both fell to the ground beaten, bruised, and exhausted. Kakashi called an early lunch and informed them that the next training session would consist of teamwork training. He had them do their 20 laps around the village and let them go early.

The next three days consisted of Kakashi teaching them mission formations and their individual rolls in the team. He ran them through different mission scenarios that they could encounter. By the end of day seven they were up to 35 laps around the village without too much difficulty. The week flew by and their skills improved drastically as well as their teamwork. Sasuke had reverted back to his normal apathetic self. He was less antagonistic towards his teammates but made no effort to get closer to Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry was as strong as ever. Sakura and Naruto started to develop a more familial bond when, after the night at Sasuke's house, Naruto realized he thought Sasuke was prettier than Sakura.

Naruto, more often than not, had Kakashi over for supper, where they would spend their time talking about his parents and Kakashi's training under the Yondaime. Afterwards, Kakashi would work with Naruto on his seal training. For once, Naruto was at peace and completely happy. Not even the villagers could bring him down because now he knew he had people who like him for himself no matter what he carried in his body.

On the eighth day they received their first C Ranked mission. Protect the bridge builder.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_On the eighth day they received their first C Ranked mission. Protect the bridge builder._

 

The day was bright and cheery, perfect for travelling. Despite a rocky start, (Kakashi had had to stop Naruto from attacking the insulting old man who had hired them) they were all in somewhat decent moods. Naruto was exceptionally excited being able to do a C Rank mission and leaving the village for the first time in his life. Tazuna, the old man, seemed to be himself (insulting) and Naruto was acting out against him like he would one of the villagers. The pair were at each other's throats through the first couple of hours of the journey. Only Kakashi noticed the suspicious puddle as they all walked pass.

…

All three Genin freeze when their Jounin sensei is taken out in the blink of an eye and a shower of blood. Two foreign ninja connected by a chain are a blur of motion as they attack. Sasuke recovers first, directing Sakura to protect the client. She grabs for a kunai and stands at attention in front of the bridge builder shaky but determined. Sasuke and Naruto move asone, perfectly in synch and using all the training at their disposal to incapacitate the first assailant but they are not fast enough to reach the second Sakura's death flashes before all their eyes as the enemy charges toward her and the client. At the last second their bastard of a Sensei, shows up, alive and well, between Sakura and the ninja, easily taking out the enemy.

Apparently the client had been lying about the mission level because his village couldn't afford a B rank. After a vote, they decide to continue the mission despite the changed parameters, much to Kakashi's displeasure.

…

Naruto swallows back his sense of impending doom when the water prison closes around Kakashi-sensei. This new threat, Zabuza, is well out of a Genin's abilities but he refuses to leave his sensei behind. He charges the water clone with his army of shadow clones, playing for time and wracking his brain for anything that could give him an edge. For once Sasuke is hanging back, protecting Sakura and the client, with a clear view of their captured sensei.

The plan takes less time to implement than it did to come up with. Their sensei is free in seconds, all thanks to Naruto and Sasuke's flawless teamwork, and Zabuza's body is taken by a hunter-nin from Kiri.

…

Naruto carries the unconscious Kakashi the rest of the way to Tazuna's house, where they will stay for the remainder of the mission. The three students meet Tazuna's daughter and grandson. Inari is an angry child and Naruto can see a little of himself in Inari. He doesn't pity the child though, he understands, but Inari is giving up and that is something Naruto doesn't approve of, so he tries to make Inari understand. The result is a screaming match.

During the week it takes Kakashi to recover, he teaches them tree climbing using chakra. It's the first chakra exercise their Sensei has had them work on since they've been together as a team. While they were happy working on teamwork skills and Taijutsu, they were excited to be learning something new finally.

Sakura is the first to master this while Sasuke and Naruto work for hours competing, each trying to better the other. Sakura was guarding Tazuna on the bridge while the two rivals continued to train.

Naruto pushed himself as he was known to do and ended up sleeping in the forest after exhausting himself training. He wakes to find what appears to be a beautiful girl. They speak for a little while and he helps her gather herbs. When she asks if he has someone precious to him, Naruto is happy to be able to answer the affirmative. He beams as he thinks of Iruka-sensei and his teammates, and the girl smiles back knowingly.

She is something special, sweet, smart, (Naruto didn't know an herb from a weed) and seems to genuinely enjoy his company. She's taller than him. But then, isn't everyone? She is taller than most girls his age though, probably a couple of years older. Every part of her seems to sparkle in the early morning light, her eyes, her hair, her smile, her skin, even her flowery yukata. She doesn't treat him like an idiot either, and patiently teaches him about herbs and remedies as they work.

Too soon, she stands to leave, expressing a need to return to her precious person. Naruto can only wish to see her again as he says his goodbyes. Before she walks away, possibly for good, she turns back to him once more with a sheepish smile.

"By the way… I'm a boy."

Naruto almost freaked out to know the person he had been conversing with was not in fact a beautiful girl but a very attractive boy. However, recalling what had occurred between himself and Sasuke some weeks ago, Naruto decided it really wasn't that big of a deal and went back to Tazuna's house regretting not getting the boy's name.

…

"A hero always shows up at the last second."

Kakashi was fighting Zabuza while Sasuke was facing off with the masked ninja from before when Naruto finally made it to the battle on the bridge. Naruto had been held up dealing with a couple of thugs who had attacked Inari and his mother. He didn't stop to think about what he was doing, all Naruto was thinking about when he appeared at Sasuke's side was helping him fight. Protecting someone important to him. Those words still echoed in his head.

The Ninjutsu used was like nothing Naruto had ever seen or heard of. They tried everything to break the ice mirrors but nothing was working. Then the unthinkable happened. Sasuke jumped in front of him and took an attack meant for Naruto.

Blood splattered Naruto's face, warm and wet. There were so many needles. The blonde lay there on the ground staring up at his teammate in stunned horror. That wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to protect Sasuke not the other way around and Sasuke may not hate him but the Uchiha certainly didn't like him no matter what he wished to believe. The distance Sasuke put between himself and Naruto proved that. So why?

Then Sasuke was in his arms not moving. Not breathing. Naruto was trying to get strong enough to protect his precious people. Sasuke was one of them. He was special to Naruto and he failed to protect him.

There was no time for grief, no time to let the tears that had gathered in his eyes fall. Right now there was only time to fight. Naruto saw red. Rage over took grief and all he wanted was to kill the masked ninja that took Sasuke, his best friend and rival, away from him.

Naruto was no longer tired and bleeding. So he struck, hitting the masked ninja and sending him flying through the previously unbreakable ice mirrors. That wasn't the biggest shock though. The biggest shock came when the ninja stood and his mask shattered and fell from his face in pieces. Naruto froze, his fist inches from contact, in recognition. The beautiful boy from the clearing. A person Naruto thought he could become friends with. Someone who taught him an important lesson about being strong.

Naruto was torn. This ninja killed Sasuke and he needed to die for that but Naruto simply could not make his body move to complete the attack. Naruto had no answer when the boy asked him why he stopped. He just let his body move and hit the boy, knocking him back and to the ground.

The boy spoke of pity while wiping the blood from his mouth and Naruto knew that wasn't why he stopped. Naruto needed answers. He wanted to understand what made the boy want to do what he does. He got his answers and they were more than what he was expecting. Here stood a boy too similar to himself for comfort. Someone else considered a monster for something he had no control over. Another person looking for recognition and acceptance but the other ninja wanted those from only one person. Someone who saw him as a tool not a monster. Someone who saved him.

The boy wanted Naruto to kill him. Naruto pulled out a kunai and moved towards the beautifully sad ninja but hesitated. He knew the other boy like he knew himself and didn't want to kill him even though a part of him was still demanding vengeance for Sasuke. He raised the kunai slowly while the other ninja stood in front of him passively waiting for his death.

At the last second though, the boy moved inhumanly fast. Naruto, thinking he changed his mind, chased after him. He didn't hear it at first. The sound of chirping birds. A sound that was out of place and he couldn't fathom why he was hearing that now. Then he saw it. His sensei, his hand surrounded with blue lightening running towards Zabuza. The boy running in the same direction and Naruto saw it all happening in slow motion.

The boy wasn't trying to get away. He was going to save the one person in his life who mattered by sacrificing himself. Naruto knew what was going to happen, he was pushing himself as fast as he could go, but he wasn't going to make it in time. He didn't know why he needed to stop it from happening but he wanted to stop them. So he scream as if his own life depended on it for Kakashi to stop.

He watched the unmasked ninja run in between Kakashi and Zabuza. Naruto froze just steps from the three of them thinking it was too late. Naruto watched the young ninja fall to his knees, blood soaking into the torn cloth of his shoulder. He saw that Kakashi just scored a glancing blow to the boy, nothing serious, and his Sensei had his hand buried in Zabuza's shoulder. A serious wound but the older ninja would be in some serous pain but would survive. Naruto could only breathe a sigh of relief. Zabuza hasn't moved an inch and he stays standing there with an almost bored look on his face even with Kakashi's hand wrist deep in his shoulder.

When Zabuza starts thanking, Haku, the young ninja for being useful, Naruto loses his temper and before Kakashi can warn his student to stay back he is there towering over the boy still kneeling on the ground in front of Zabuza. Kakashi was forced back a few steps when Naruto pushed his way in between the three shinobi, Zabuza merely grunted when Kakashi's hand was pulled from his body.

Kakashi relaxed his stance minutely, Zabuza's arms were useless and the boy at his feet was giving no indication he was going to move so he stood watch. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted before he even began.

"Why?"

All three standing ninja looked down at the boy still kneeling before them. "Why what?" Naruto asked.

"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

"You weren't defending yourself and you weren't attacking me. If I had killed you it would have been revenge not justice. I won't go down that path." Naruto tilted his head back to look up at Zabuza preparing to give the missing-nin a piece of his mind when another voice interrupted them.

Gatou showed up with a hundred of his underlings. They listened to him brag about the other's he had hired and killed, he never planned to pay any of them and now he was going to do the same to Haku and Zabuza.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry. This fight is over. Now that we have no reason to go after Tazuna, we have no reason to fight you." Zabuza said after Gatou's big speech.

"You're right." Kakashi replied.

The old man wasn't quite finished though. He lifted his cane with his undamaged hand and pointed it in Haku's direction. "I owe you. You squeezed my arm until it broke."

Naruto moved in front of Haku blocking him from the old man's sight. From the corner of his eye he noticed Zabuza hadn't moved at all.

"Aren't you gonna do anything? He's your friend and that guy is not only stabbing you in the back he plans to hurt or kill Haku." He shouted up at the older ninja.

"Shut up kid. We were used by Gatou just like I used Haku, that's all. I already said it, in the world of shinobi there are those who use and those who are used. We shinobi are simply tools… What I wanted was his blood, not him."

Naruto looked down at the boy he now knew as Haku. He had his head bowed and he was still kneeling at Zabuza's feet. "Do you really mean that?"

"…"

Naruto heard Gatou make a comment about annoying kids but ignored it. He pointed down at Haku as he shouted his words at the older ninja. "He really loves you. You are like family to him. He loves you enough to put his own life before yours. Do you really feel nothing? If I become as strong as you…Will I really become like you?"

"He was going to throw his life away for you. Without his own dream… To die as a tool… That's… Just too sad…" Naruto could feel the tears streaming down his dirty cheeks and couldn't stop them. He wanted to take Haku away and show him that he is better than a tool and that there are people out there who would appreciate the sacrifice he was willing to make. Naruto's eyes were trained on Haku's bowed head when Zabuza spoke.

"Kid…You don't…Need to say any more."

Naruto raised his head quickly in surprise at the hesitation he heard in the man's voice. What surprised him even more was the moisture welling in the older shinobi's eyes.

"It hurt him having to fight you…He's too kind. I'm glad we got to face you guys. You may be right kid. A shinobi is still human…We may not be able to become emotionless tools. Let me borrow your kunai kid."

Naruto threw the kunai in Zabuza's direction curious as to what he was going to do with both his arms useless and a fairly deep wound in his shoulder. He watched Zabuza catch the weapon with his teeth and nudged Haku in the back with his knee.

Haku tilted his head back to look at Zabuza who motioned in the direction of Gatou and his gang. Haku smiled at him and nodded. The younger ninja stood and walked toward Naruto, stopping when he was within arm's reach.

"Thank you Naruto and you should know he's not dead." Haku told him before walking toward Zabuza.

"Huh?" Naruto replied dumbly. It took him a moment of analyzing Haku's statement before he understood what the boy meant. Sasuke wasn't dead. Haku didn't kill him. By the time that realization set in Gatou was shouting for his army to kill everyone and Zabuza was speeding toward them with Naruto's kunai clenched between his teeth and Haku behind him preparing his own attack.

The gang of thugs was confidant they would win against both Zabuza and Haku until Zabuza reached those on the front lines and carved through them like they weren't even there. Zabuza cleared a path through a majority of the ones protecting Gatou, while Haku was taking out the ones that were falling in behind Zabuza but it was soon becoming clear to Naruto and Kakashi that just those two wouldn't be enough to kill them all, not in the condition they were in.

Naruto and Kakashi quickly made five clones each and raced into the fight. Zabuza finally made it to Gatou and proceeded to kill him with the kunai Naruto gave him still clenched tightly in between his teeth. The fight came to a standstill when Gatou fell to the ground dead.

In the middle of the silence Naruto heard Sakura shout out to him that Sasuke was alive. He knew that as Haku had already told him but when he looked over to find his best friend stand unsteadily with his hand raised in a wave, Naruto wanted to give him a hug, jump up and down happily and shout at the top of his lungs. But he did none of those things. He just smiled wide and bright saying 'welcome back Sasuke' loud enough for him to hear before he had to turn his attention back to the gang of ninja.

The fight picked back up again when it was once again interrupted. This time by Inari who was followed by what looked like every able-bodied villager from the island.

"Inari," Naruto shouted out happy to see the boy.

"A hero always shows up at the last second right?" Inari replied ginning.

Between the four ninja, their clones, and the villagers, Gatou's gang didn't stand a chance and fled. Zabuza collapsed finally having run out of energy with Haku sitting down heavily right next to him. He pulled out a sealing scroll filled with medical supplies and began patching the worst of  Zabuza's injuries.

When Haku was done, Kakashi got Zabuza up on his back while Naruto did the same with Sasuke. The five ninja went back to Tazuna's house to patch up their wounds and rest. Sakura and a few of the villagers stayed behind to keep an eye on Tazuna while he worked for the remainder of the day.

…

Sasuke was disgusted with himself. It wasn't enough that he had needed Naruto's assistance every step of this mission and they tied in the tree climbing exercise, but he had actually been willing to sacrifice himself for that Dobe. Never again. Clearly he was a bit more attached to the blonde than he thought. He liked Naruto; he could admit that in the privacy of his own thoughts. But these feelings were a liability he couldn't afford as an avenger. And he'd actually allowed himself to be taken down by that pretty boy ice freak, whom dead last Naruto had somehow taken down.

Said ice freak was currently making time with his Dobe. Sasuke felt no shame as he leaned out the window so he could eavesdrop on the two boys on the porch.

…

"What are you two going to do now?" The sentence was spoken oddly softly for Naruto. He was attempting to be considerate for those who were already asleep inside.

"I don't know. More of the same perhaps. Look for someone to hire us. Try to make enough money to follow Zabuza's dream."

"Zabuza wouldn't do that to you. He said he doesn't want you to be a tool anymore, that you aren't cut out to be an assassin."

"It's not that simple Naruto-kun. It's not like we can settle in one spot with the price on his head. We don't have anywhere to go."

"Of course you do! You can come with us and live in Konoha. It'll be great. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will agree. And you guys are super strong. Old man Hokage is sure to hire you both as Konoha ninja. I bet the hospital in Leaf would want you. You're really good with medicines and stuff."

Haku giggled, "Naruto-kun, you can't just make decisions like that. There are politics involved with taking in a missing-nin, and no village will just take in strange shinobi. It's not safe. We could be spies or assassins there to kill the Hokage or kidnap clan heirs."

"Eehh, Gramps can take care of all that. He'll take you in if I say you're alright. And Kakashi-sensei can back me up."

Haku smile indulgently, "We'll see what Kakashi says in the morning."

…

Two weeks later found team seven along with Zabuza and Haku, fully healed and rested, standing at the now completed bridge, saying goodbye to Tazuna and his family. They said their goodbyes and Naruto reassured Inari that he would visit when he could. The six ninja left, four happy to be going home, two hoping to find a home.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Two weeks later found team seven along with Zabuza and Haku, fully healed and rested, standing at the now completed bridge, saying goodbye to Tazuna and his family. They said their goodbyes and Naruto reassured Inari that he would visit when he could. The six ninja left, four happy to be going home, two hoping to find a home._

The group chose an easy pace in deference to Zabuza's still healing injuries. Kakashi and Zabuza led the way, walking along leisurely, discussing jutsus and fighting styles. Naruto and Haku followed closely behind the two older ninja, the blonde's hands waving around madly as he described something, with Sasuke and Sakura behind them. Sakura would comment on whatever subject they were on at the time when Naruto paused for breath and Sasuke would watch the three in sullen silence.

Towards the end of the second day Haku finally worked up the courage to ask a question he'd been curious about since he fought Naruto. He would have asked sooner but since no one had spoken of it he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a secret or if it might be a sore spot for anyone.

…

"Hey Naruto?" Haku spoke, he looked over to Naruto walking leisurely beside him with his hands resting behind his head.

Naruto looked over to his new friend. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked a bit shyly.

Naruto looked at him curiously. He hadn't seen Haku act like this since their meeting in the clearing. For someone who looked so feminine he was quite bold. He cocked his head quizzically and waited for Haku to continue.

"Well, I was wondering, what was that red chakra you used during our fight?" Haku watched the four leaf shinobi become unnaturally still even as they kept walking.

Sasuke glanced at his teammate sharply. No one had told him what had happened while he was unconscious. He had just assumed that Naruto had gotten lucky during the fight with Haku. What he knew he learned from Sakura but it seems like she didn't see much more than he did.

Naruto glanced up at his Sensei for some type of directions. Kakashi noticed the look when he peeked over his shoulder at the younger ninja. He stopped to turn and stand in front of his student. "That one is your secret to tell. No one else can, you understand? If you tell them, they must know the consequences of telling or discussing this with anyone else besides those of us standing here."

Naruto's gaze returned toZabuza and Haku who had been watching the conversation with interest. Sakura stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder while Sasuke stood closer than he normally would.The jinchuuriki smiled at his teammates, once again thankful that they had found out about the Kyuubi, and nodded up at Kakashi. He made his decision, if anyone would understand and not judge him it would be these two.

Haku and Zabuza followed behind Kakashi and the three young ninja. Naruto was more subdued now and Haku was almost sorry he asked and wiped that brilliant smile off the blonde's face.

…

"Well, we might as well make camp before we explain. No sense in standing around here where anyone might happen along and overhear." Kakashi stated and walked off toward a clearing they could see through a break in the trees.

Once they made camp and ate supper the five younger shinobi sat around the fire with Zabuza while Kakashi sat a little ways away leaning against a tree with his book propped in front of his face. Naruto sat in between Sasuke and Sakura nervously tugging on the hem of his pants while Haku and Zabuza sat facing them and waiting patiently for him to begin.

Naruto lowered his eyes to his hands folded together in his lap. "Uh, I don't know what they teach in the other hidden villages so I'll just start from the beginning. So almost 13 years ago the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha. The Hokage at the time, Minato Namikaze, fought it that night. That same night shortly before the Kyuubi showed up a baby was born and when the Hokage figured out that it could not be killed, he sealed the Kyuubi in a baby, the same one born that night, me."

He finally raised his eyes to the two figures seated across from him. Haku looked back at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Did something happen with your seal?"

Naruto had expected a question along that line and thankfully he had an answer after Kakashi had spoken to him the night of the battle after everyone fell asleep. He shook his head. "Kakashi Sensei checked my seal and said it looked like it was still intact. He's not as good with seals as the Fourth was but he said that since my seal was undisturbed it sounded like, the high emotional situation and my own lowered chakra reserves caused me to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra."

Haku inclined his head in understanding. "Can I ask another question?"

Naruto nodded his assent and waited.

"Are those because you have the fox sealed in you?" Haku asked curiously, poking at his own cheeks, then giggled at the dumbfounded look on Naruto's face.

That was not a question Naruto expected and he had no idea how to answer. The marks on his cheeks had always been there, he didn't notice them and no one had ever asked about them. He shrugged and looked over to his Sensei. If anyone would know it would be him.

Kakashi, who had been listening to the conversation, lowered his book, marking his place with a finger. "I believe I may be able to answer that, but it's only a theory." He spoke directly to Naruto while everyone else listened. "You know the story of your birth and who you were born to." Naruto nodded and Kakashi continued. "Well, I didn't get to see you right away but from what the Third told me when I asked, you had those marks when you were born however they were lighter until the Kyuubi was sealed in you."

Naruto looked a little surprised at the information then Haku spoke up again. "When you use the Kyuubi's chakra you gain more of its features than just the whisker marks you already have. That's why asked."

This time it was Kakashi who asked the questions. "What do you mean? What kind of features?" Naruto looked between Haku and Kakashi apprehensively not sure if he really wanted to know how much like the fox he looked like.

"Don't worry Naruto," Haku reassured him. "It wasn't bad or a lot, just minor things that when combined made you look intimidating. You gained these black marks around your mouth and eyes, your canines grew larger and sharper, your nails grew into claws and your whisker marks darkened. Also all of the injuries you sustained from my attacks seemed to heal instantly." Haku never took his eyes off Naruto who was listening as intently as everyone else.

Kakashi perked up at the new information. "Do not put any of this in your reports, you three. We will discuss this with the Third after we hand them in. Zabuza and Haku you will not mention any of what you heard or saw here, with anyone beside those of us here and the Hokage. There is a law in place to protect Naruto." It wasn't the entire truth but it would work for now to keep them from talking to anyone else about the Kyuubi.

The five ninja nodded at the orders from Kakashi when Zabuza finally decided to make a comment. "When you learn to use that chakra productively we need to spar." He said seriously eyeing Naruto.

The comment startled a laugh out of the blonde. Once he got started, it was difficult to stop. The relief seemed to just open the floodgates and laughter came pouring out. It was such an innocent statement after such a big reveal and neither of them were looking at him any differently, except maybe Zabuza who believed he would become stronger.The thought made him happy.

When Naruto finally stopped laughing, he promised Zabuza his spar and Kakashi made them all turn in early in preparation for the long day ahead of them.

…

The group reached the village shortly after lunch the next day. At the gates they signed in and sent two ANBU ahead to inform the Hokage about Haku and Zabuza.

Naruto stormed into the Hokage's office excitedly, with everyone else following behind at a more sedate pace. The Sandaime watched as his self-proclaimed grandson paced his office, ranting and raving about the mission before he stopped and excitedly told him that they (he pointed at Haku and Zabuza) were joining the village.

The Hokage watched Naruto with fond amusement until he was finished speaking and took a good look at the two new comers. "You two are?" He asked after taking a puff of his pipe and blowing the smoke above his head slowly.

The two ninja moved to the front of the desk and bowed respectfully. "Momochi Zabuza and Haku." Zabuza introduced the both of them.

"And what is it you are here for?"

"We would like to become shinobi for Konoha if you will allow it."

"I see. Well seeing as you are a missing nin at the moment there will be a few things we will have to go through in order to make you a ninja of Konoha. Your young friend, Haku, on the other hand will be a bit easier since he is not classified as anything." The Sandaime stated as he puffed on his pipe.

"Yes Hokage. What exactly would be required of me?" Zabuza asked curiously. It wasn't like he'd refuse, not when it came to a place they could finally call home. Somewhere Haku wouldn't have to worry about being killed because of his bloodline.

"First I would need you to meet with the head of T&I, Ibiki Moreno, to gauge your intentions, then we would need to test your skills, however hearing your exploits I'm sure you're at least Jounin in level, and then there's the paperwork required to instate you as a citizen of Konoha. If everything checks out and you will be on probation for about one year. Any offences during that time and you will lose your right to be a ninja and citizen of Konoha as well as be forced to leave the village and I assure you, you will be watched for the duration of your probation. Haku will have his skills tested at the same time as you and will be required to do the same paperwork. For now though I will summon Ibiki and you will go with him while I hear the report from team 7. I'm sure I will receive a good report from Ibiki so when I am finished with team 7's report I will arrange suitable living arrangements for you two." He finally concluded and waited for a response from the two shinobi.

"Just one thing Hokage, if I may make a request?" Haku asked the older man who nodded. "When you arrange where we are to live, will you make sure it's big enough for me and Zabuza?"

"Certainly, now if there is nothing else?"

"Just one more thing Hokage, once we are established as citizens of Konoha I would like to officially adopt Haku as my younger brother. He needs a suitable family name to go along with his fresh start here." Zabuza stated calmly.

"Is this an agreeable arrangement young man?" The Sandaime asked looking back at the younger ninja.

Haku nodded at the Hokage and looked up at Zabuza, happy tears shining in his chocolate brown eyes, and smiled brightly. Today could probably be counted as the best day he's had in such a long time. He was gaining a home, family, and friends, one among them who understood him better than anyone. He looked back at said new friend who was practically vibrating with excitement. His teacher had a hand on the blonde's shoulder keeping him in place but it couldn't stop the wide grin stretching across the blonde's face. Haku beamed back, basking in their shared euphoria.

At some point during the exchange the Hokage must have signaled to one of the ANBU situated around the room, because a knock sounded at the door and a tall intimidating scarred man walked in when prompted to do so. The Hokage gave a few instructions and introduced Zabuza and Ibiki to each other before the two left the room.

After the two older ninja had left the room, Haku moved back to Naruto side where he stood quietly while Kakashi gave a much more detailed report than what Naruto had when he first entered the office and informed him of the incident with the Kyuubi's chakra as well as what Haku observed. The Hokage took notes on the matter to discuss with Jiraiya when he saw him next.

By the end of the report the Hokage sat in his chair with a frown on his face not liking how easily they had been fooled. He pulled out a few sheets of paper and began implementing a new rule that stated any C or B rank mission, from that moment on, would be investigated for any discrepancies from the job the ninja of the village were originally hired to do. If any discrepancies were found the person or place who hired them would be fined as well as the rank changed and the charges adjusted accordingly.

He set the paperwork aside for the counsel and Daimyo to take a look at and informed Kakashi of the changes. By the time the Hokage had finished speaking Ibiki was back followed by Zabuza who was looking pleased. Ibiki set a piece of paper down on the desk in front of the Hokage and was dismissed. The Sandaime looked over the paper quickly and set it down with a smile.

He pulled out three more pieces of paper, two for Zabuza and one for Haku and set them down motioning for the two to come forward. The members of team 7 watched as the two ninja filled out the papers quickly and hand them back to the Hokage.

The Hokage stood from his chair. "I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, and on behalf of myself, the counsel and the village, we welcome you as citizens of Konohagakure, Momochi Zabuza and Momochi Haku." He set two more sheets of paper in front of them, this time their living arrangements, before sitting back in his chair and resuming puffing on his pipe. He dismissed the group and watched fondly as Naruto grabbed Haku by the wrist and dragged him out of the office, speaking as fast as he could and promising to treat Haku to the best ramen he'd ever have.

The Hokage couldn't help but to huff a laugh at that. No matter what happened Naruto would never change. He looked down at his desk and sighed. He had a lot of paper work before, and now he had more to deal with.

…

By the end of the next day Zabuza had been made a Jounin and would be in training for ANBU. Haku was made a Genin and would have to prove himself in the upcoming Chuunin Exams if he wanted to advance. He would be put on a temporary team for the exams and a permanent one after no matter if he made Chuunin or not. Haku would also be working in the hospital when not on missions after the exams were concluded.

Haku, with too much free time on his hands until the start of the exams, set up a training schedule with Naruto. He needed a way to keep his own skills sharp and he wanted to help Naruto with his own training. He knew the younger ninja had an absurd amount of stamina but not a lot of speed, while Haku himself had an abundance of speed but not stamina. He couldn't do much about his Ninjutsu since most of what he used was bloodline ability and elemental affinity and Naruto was getting plenty of training with Kakashi and Sasuke on his Taijutsu.

For three weeks Naruto and Haku spent every day that he wasn't with his team, together. From dawn to dusk they trained relentlessly. Some days Kakashi would sit off to the side offering a little advice if it was needed but that wasn't often. Every time he sat in on their training he became more and more impressed with how fast Naruto was improving.

Sakura would occasionally take time to sit and watch the two boys train and every day she grew more amazed when she could see the change brought about in her teammate in such a short time. She was proud of him and happy they had become much closer now.

Sasuke though, was there nearly every day just watching, not offering any advice and he didn't seem to be using his sharingan so it didn't seem like he was gaining anything by just sitting there and doing nothing. But he sat in the same spot day after day with a scowl on his face and just watched the two spar.

…

Sasuke bit back a growl as Haku once again praised Naruto's growing skill. Before Haku, Sasuke'd gotten used to seeing Naruto every day. Normally, he bumped into the blonde regularly on his days off and was either dragged along to something social and frivolous or allowed himself to be challenged to a spar. Now, that girly nin was plastered to the Dobe's side in all of their downtime. If that wasn't bad enough, Haku had somehow displaced him as Naruto's favorite sparring partner. He hated to admit it but without Naruto, he'd had to triple his stamina training. Not that it was doing him any good. Every time he sparred with the Dobe anymore, he could feel the distance between their abilities shrinking. Naruto had almost knocked him on his ass with a surprise kick last time. His own intensified training regime seemed to be having no effect at all.

Sasuke had taken to watching Naruto's training in order to figure out their secrets but so far all he'd seen was that cross-dressing, doe-eyed, pretty boy throwing himself at Naruto at every opportunity. It was always 'Let's eat together Naruto-kun', 'You're improving so fast Naruto-kun', or 'You're too kind Naruto-kun, I'd love to see more of the village with you'. Naruto was his, damn it. Now he had to keep watching them just to make sure the pretty teen didn't try anything.

…

By the end of the three weeks Naruto's speed had increased exponentially and he was able to dodge most anything Haku would throw his way. In the beginning it had been tough but between Haku's medic skills and Naruto accelerated healing, Naruto was able to stay away from the hospital. Haku on the other hand wasn't nearly as exhausted at the end of the day as when they had started.

…

One morning after Haku and Naruto's training sessions ended the blonde hurried to meet with Sakura and Sasuke for their team meeting. Upon arriving he greeted Sakura happily and turned to Sasuke to greet him but found the other boy staring away from him with a scowl on his face. All Naruto could do was look away in disappointment. They hadn't spoken more than a few sentences to each other since they had come back from Wave Country.

Before that things had been going so well but now he had no idea what had happened for his teammate to revert to the way things were before. He wanted to ask but refrained for fear of pushing him away more.

Sakura could only look on worried as Naruto and Sasuke spoke less and less. She had no clue what was going on and when she had tried to bring it up to Sasuke he told her to mind her own business. And so they sat there in silence waiting for their always tardy Sensei to show up.

They listened to Kakashi's usual excuses for being late, even though he wasn't as late as he used to be, and did their usual D rank missions, going their own ways after.

Naruto strolled around the village for a short time. He noticed the box looking rock following him sometime back but didn't do anything about it since it was just following him and he wasn't doing anything except walking aimlessly. But now it was getting a bit…unnerving being followed by an odd looking object, so he finally turned around and confronted it. Turns out it was Konohamaru and two of his teammates.

Naruto was flattered when he found out the three of them were emulating him and he had forgotten he had agreed to train with him under the guise of playing ninja. About that time Sakura had found them and started questioning why ninja would want to play ninja. He had to quietly inform her of the trick behind getting Konohamaru to train in the form of games. She seemed to be satisfied with that explanation.

Then Konohamaru just had to go and say something stupid, pissing Sakura off, and causing her to knock him in the head. It hadn't happened in a while and honestly he kind of didn't blame her for getting mad over the insult. If Konohamaru didn't learn the first time he insulted her, he now knew not to since they were both running from her.

…

In the meantime Kakashi was turning in the mission report for the day. Iruka, who was manning the mission desk, was happy to see him. He took the chance to check up on Naruto since he'd been so busy lately he hadn't been able to spare any time to look in on him.

He was extremely happy to hear how well Naruto was doing and how hard he had been working in his extra training with one of the new ninja who had been accepted into the village. Iruka had read the mission report from the land of waves and knew of Haku and his involvement in the mission so he was a little hesitant about Naruto training with the older boy, but Kakashi seemed to be supervising and didn't look at all worried so he set aside his misgiving for the moment.

…

Konohamaru had gotten ahead of Naruto and when he finally caught up he found the young boy being held in the air by an oddly dressed foreign ninja.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto yelled out.

"You little piece of shit." The ninja in black growled out at a struggling Konohamaru.

"Don't yell, you'll get us in trouble." A blonde girl told the other ninja.

"Naruto I'm sorry I was messing around. You have to help me."

Naruto wanted to yell at the other ninja, call him names for picking on a little boy, but he had been trying to not just go shooting his mouth off without thinking things through. He really had been trying to be better but he just couldn't let this be so he planned on just rushing the other ninja and trying to grab Konohamaru from him.

As soon as he made a move forward though, his arm was grabbed by Sakura. "Wait, Naruto you just can't attack him. He's from another village and from the look of their Hitai-Ate, they are from Sunagakure. We are allies with them and if we attack first it could cause an incident that could lead to a war."

He paused at her words and kept his eyes trained on Konohamaru. It took a moment but then something occurred to him. "You do know that kid you have right now is the grandson of the Hokage right?"

The boy holding Konohamaru looked at Naruto skeptically trying to gauge how truthful he was being, but before he could say or do anything a rock came flying out of nowhere causing him to drop the young boy. He grabbed his wrist as they all looked in the direction the rock came from.

Sasuke was sitting on the lowest branch of a tree nearby tossing another rock in his hand. "What are you bastards doing in our village? You should just get lost."

"Hey punk, get down here." The Suna ninja yelled up to Sasuke while he pulled something that was strapped to his back, off and held at his side with a hand. The blonde ninja that was with him, was trying to talk him out of whatever it was he wanted to do.

"You're a disgrace to our village." A gravelly voice stated.

Sasuke's head whipped around to find another Suna ninja hanging upside down on the next branch just a little further up than the one he was on. He hadn't sensed the newcomer at all. He didn't know when the red haired ninja had shown up or how long he'd been there.

Loosing yourself in a fight, how pathetic…Why do you think we came to the leaf village?" He asked the other two ninja.

"Listen Gaara, they started it." Naruto's eyes bounced between the two male ninja. He examined the one, he now knew as Gaara, closely. He had red hair and pale skin. The dark circles around his eyes made the green of his pupils stand out and the kanji on his forehead was blood red against his pale skin. Naruto was fascinated with the Suna nin but he was also weary. There was something about him that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

When Gaara told the black clad boy to shut up or he'd kill him, Naruto understood what it was about him that set his teeth on edge. He was dangerous, extremely so. It wasn't only in the look in his eyes, it was the fact both the blonde and the black clad ninja were both terrified of him.

"Sorry to you guys." Graara said turning to Sasuke who hadn't moved from his branch. He disappeared from the branch and reappeared in between, what must have been his teammates, in a swirl of sand. "We didn't come here to play around." He told the other two before turning to walk away.

"Hey wait," Sakura called out to the three Suna ninja. "You guys are ninja from the Sand Village and it's forbidden for ninja from another village enter without permission. So what are you guys doing here?"

The blonde spoke this time. "You're right, we are from Suna and we are here for the Chuunin Selection Exam."

Naruto grew excited. He remembered Haku telling him about the exam, he had just forgotten when it was supposed to happen. When the sand ninja started to walk away and Sasuke asked for Gaara's name, for once Naruto didn't feel like the idiot Sasuke claimed him to be.

"Gaara of the Desert and I am interested to know your name as well."

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto stood back and kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to draw attention to himself from these ninja just yet.

…

The next morning when Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, it wasn't missions he was informing them of. "This is sudden but…I've nominated you guys for the Chuunin Selection Exams."

His students looked at him a little stunned before he snapped them out of their stupor. "Here are your applications," He told them holding out three pieces of paper for them to take.

In his excitement, Naruto jumped on Kakashi, squeezing the older ninja around the neck. "Kakashi Sensei, I love you." Kakashi could only chuckle at his student's enthusiasm before trying to pry him off.

"This is just a nomination. Those who wish to take it should sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4pm tomorrow. It is up to each of you whether or not you take the exam. That is all." He told them before disappearing.

They walked along together, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Excitement (Naruto), anxiousness (Sasuke) and trepidation (Sakura). That night they filled out their forms, Sakura with more than a little hesitation.

Yes, all three of them had been training and made improvements but she wasn't sure she was even close to Sasuke and Naruto's level yet. Then after meeting those ninja from the Sand Village she was scared. However, she decided she wasn't going to get any better if she didn't go through with this and she was determined that she would not hold back her teammates.

…

They met outside the building at the required time. Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement when he greeted them. Sakura was trying not to let her nerves get to her but was afraid she didn't do a very good job when both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her funny.

The three of them entered the building to catch a speech from two ninja standing in front of a door and a girl on the floor in front of them. "Listen, this is our kindness. The Chuunin Exam isn't easy…Even we have failed it three times in a row. Those that take the exam and end up quitting as shinobi, those that die during the exam, we've seen it all. And those Chuunin who pass often become captains of military teams. The failure of a mission, the death of a comrade, that is all the captain's responsibility. Yet, you kids think you can pass." The ninja ended his speech with a scoff.

Naruto and Sakura followed behind Sasuke when he moved to the front of the crowd. He stopped in front of them with a smirk adorning his face. "You will let us pass through. We are going to the third floor." He paused for a moment hearing the confused murmuring coming from the crowd behind them and his smirk deepened. "And also, remove the Genjutsu."

The ninja who had been quiet the whole time spoke up then. "Ah, so you noticed."

Sasuke turned and addressed Sakura instead of answering the ninja who spoke. "You must have noticed it right Sakura? Your analytical ability and Genjutsu know-how is the most improved on our team."

Sakura flushed slightly at the compliment. Her nerves eased a little with Sasuke's faith in her. "Of course I noticed a while ago because this is the second floor." Naruto nodded in agreement with Sakura but internally berated himself for not paying attention.

"Hmm. Not bad. But all you did was see through it." The one who made the speech said then moved to charge Sasuke who saw the attack coming and made to defend himself when someone interrupted them.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke watched as two boys and a girl started discussing keeping a low profile. The one wearing green spandex, black hair and thick eye brows walk up to Sakura. He was the one who intercepted the attack between Sasuke and the other ninja.

He introduced himself as Rock Lee and then proclaimed his love to Sakura. Naruto wanted to giggle at the scene and Sakura's dejected look, but held back. They may get along better now that she knew more about him and he gave up on his 'pursuit' but that didn't mean she wouldn't knock him on the head if she felt he was laughing at her.

Not too far away from Naruto, Sakura, and Rock Lee, was the other boy. He was just as pale as Sasuke with long black hair and pupil-less eyes. Unlike his weird looking companion in spandex, the second boy was attractive, in a vaguely creepy kind of way, Naruto noted, maybe even on par with Sasuke. He had nothing on Haku though, but then Haku wasn't exactly a fair reference point. Naruto was starting to think he had a bit of a fetish for boys who looked like they'd never spent a day in the sun.

"Hey you," Bushy Brows called out to Sasuke. "What's your name?"

"When you want to know some ones name, you should give yours first." Sasuke replied.

"You're a rookie right? How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer that." Sasuke replied once more, this time with a growl behind his words.

Sakura chose that moment to interrupt whatever the other boy was going to say. "Sasuke, Naruto. Let's go." She grabbed them each by the wrist and dragged them along the hallway that was once a door.

They hadn't gotten too far when a voice called out. "Hey, guy with the dark eyes." The three of them stopped and turned looking up to where the voice had come from and found Rock Lee looking down on them.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked now getting annoyed with the delay.

"Will you fight me right here?"

"A fight right now?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Rock Lee replied and jumped down to land in front of the three teammates. "My name is Rock Lee. When you want to learn a person's name you introduce yourself first right? Uchiha Sasuke."

"So you knew?"

Rock Lee ignored the question and continued. "I want to fight you. I want to test my skills against the child of the genius ninja clan."

Sasuke scowled at the mention of his clan. "Challenging me knowing the Uchiha name…Frankly I think you're a fool. You're about to learn what my name means." He told Rock Lee arrogantly.

Rock Lee smiled a grim smile and took his stance. He stood straight, feet together, one arm behind his back and the other held out in front of him, palm facing up. "Please."

Naruto stood back watching, his hands clenched into fists. He was so tired of being underestimated but he had been slowly realizing that some times that was a good thing and no matter how much he would like to not be ignored, right now, during the exams, being underestimated was for the best. So he gritted his teeth and stayed out of the fight.

When Sasuke made no move toward Rock Lee he spoke again. "I'll say this. You guys cannot defeat me because right now, I am the strongest Leaf Genin."

Sasuke decided to take the challenge. There was no better time than now to test his skills against someone who had stopped one of his attacks as well as the person who had been attacking him. "Sounds fun. I'll do it."

"Sasuke we don't have time for this. We only have 30 minutes to get to the meeting." Sakura yelled at her teammate.

"I'll be done in five minutes." He said arrogantly and charged toward the other Genin who had just stood by patiently.

When Sasuke got close enough Rock Lee spun and aimed a high kick at his head. When Sasuke dodged the kick Rock Lee dropped low to the floor out of his line of sight and spun again aiming for Sasuke's head once more.

Sasuke saw the attack but knew he wouldn't be able to block it so he tried to guard against it. He thought that might have worked until he found himself flying back and sliding across the wood floor.

Sakura and Naruto watched in shock. It had look like he blocked the kick from their point of view and didn't understand how Rock Lee had gotten through.

Sasuke pushed himself up on his hands and knees looking back at the other boy. He tried to puzzle out how he had gotten through his guard but just didn't understand. He climbed to his feet and smirked, turning to face Rock Lee again. He had been working with Kakashi a little on his Sharingan, he now had it in both eyes, and up until this point he hadn't used it. This would be the perfect opportunity to practice in a real fight and if he was using some type of Genjutsu or Ninjutsu he would be able to see it this time.

Rock Lee noticed the change. This was his first time seeing the renowned Sharingan. He watched Sasuke charge him once more. Rock Lee moved as fast as he could and this time dropped to the floor aiming a kick up under the Uchiha's chin and landing the attack.

Sasuke was stunned. The other ninja was using neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu. It took a split second for him to come to this conclusion before Rock Lee was just there behind him as he was still flying through the air.

"My techniques are simple Taijutsu, Sasuke. Your eyes may be able to read my moves but your body isn't fast enough to react to them. I am not able to do Ninjutsu or Genjutsu so my sole focus has only ever been Taijutsu. You may be a genius, Sasuke, but I have worked my whole life too get where I am now and I will prove to you that hard work will triumph over genius."

Sasuke wondered what he was planning when Rock Lee's next move was interrupted. "That's enough Lee." Everyone looked shocked at a giant turtle that appeared to be talking.

Rock Lee aborted his attack in mid-move. A piece of the bandage from his arm was pinned to the wall and he used that to pull himself away from Sasuke. Sasuke at the same time continued to fly backwards until he hit the floor, Sakura running to intercept his fall.

Naruto was stunned. Rock Lee was fast, he didn't know who might be faster Haku or Rock Lee but he wanted to find out. Someone who could only use Taijutsu and was skilled enough to bring down Sasuke, Naruto defiantly wanted to fight him.

The three of team 7 watched Rock Lee get down on one knee. "So you were watching…"

"Lee that technique is forbidden!"

"I'm sorry. I just…" Lee replied, his voice small compared to how loud it was earlier. Rock Lee shrank back from the look the turtle had given him. It left the others confused and trying to figure out what was going on.

"I wasn't planning on using the other one." He explained to the turtle.

They watched the turtle scold Roc Lee more before there was a puff of smoke that appeared on the back of the turtle. When the smoke cleared the three of them were dumbstruck. On the back of the turtle stood a man in the goofiest pose and was an identical copy of Rock Lee, just older and taller. They watched in shock as the older ninja punched Rock Lee in the face.

The scene that followed was so overly dramatic there was no way to describe it and it left the three Genin speechless. All Sasuke could think was, he couldn't believe he lost to someone like that.

They found out the man's name was Gai and he considered Kakashi his rival. "I am stronger than Kakashi. 50 wins to his 49 losses." They looked up at him in disbelief. What they didn't know was what those challenges consisted of.

"You guys and Lee should head over to the class room." He threw a kunai at the pinwheel, knocking it from the wall and releasing the bandage that was pinned to the wall.

Naruto watched Rock Lee rewrap his hands with the now freed bandage and silently noted the intense scarring along the knuckles of his hand. As Lee took off for the classroom after admitting to lying about being the strongest Genin, the three teammates followed behind slowly. Without thinking about what he was saying, he spoke low enough for the other two to hear him. "That guy must have trained really hard every day. More than you. That's all it is."

Sasuke clenched his hands into tight fists at the words and scoffed. He shouldn't have lost to that idiot. He should have been strong enough to beat anyone here, but that guy made it seem so easy to beat him. He would just have to work harder, be better. It was a challenge he was up for. He forced his hands to relax and put a smirk back on his face. "These exams are getting fun."

Naruto and Sakura smiled at his change in attitude and words but agreed with him and when he asked if they were ready to go they matched his enthusiasm and continued on. When they finally reached room 301, Kakashi was there waiting for them. He explained what would have happened if only two of them had shown up and wished them luck before disappearing and allowing them to enter the room. And so the Chuunin Exams begin.

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 

_And so the Chuunin Exams begin._

Once they had opened the doors to room 301, actually walking through them seemed like a daunting task. The room was huge and completely full of shinobi. They stared in shock at how many there were taking the test.

Out of nowhere there came a squealing sound and Sasuke was tackled from behind, the figure almost knocking him off his feet.

"Sasuke, you're late." The voice was high pitched, loud and right in his ear. Sasuke scowled at the girl clinging to him over his shoulder and contemplated knocking her off his back. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and he knew there was no getting her off him without force.

"I haven't seen you for a while so I've been waiting for you." The girl cooed in Sasuke's ear.

Sakura watched her ex-best friend hanging off Sasuke, her fists clenched tightly and her nails biting into her palms. She was trying to figure out why Sasuke wasn't doing anything to get her off of him and getting pissed with the answers she kept coming up with. She wanted to go over and pull Ino off of him by her ponytail. Finally, Sakura had had enough of watching her rival act like that when she had to restrain herself. Just because she kept herself from hanging off Sasuke like that didn't mean she didn't want to. "Ino, you might want to let go of Sasuke now. He doesn't like being touched like that."

"Well if it isn't Sakura. Big ugly forehead as usual." Ino said with a smirk.

Sakura's teeth ground together at the familiar insult but held her tongue against the retort. Sakura and Ino were trying to glare holes into each other when someone else interrupted the staring contest.

"You guys are taking this stupid test too." Was the lazy drawl, Naruto recognized that voice and looked over to find two more of his old classmates coming up to their group and smiled happily.

"Shika, Chouji! How are you guys? I haven't seen you two in forever."

"Troublesome blonde, how many times do I need to tell you not to call me that," Shikamaru grumbled at him, but without much bite to his tone.

"I'm good Naruto, you?" Chouji shoved another handful of chips in his mouth and waved while munching away.

"Hey, found you. Well now, looks like everyone is assembled." Everyone looked around to find a hooded boy with a white dog perched on his head, flanked by a small girl with short hair and a boy with dark spikey hair and sunglasses.

"Kiba, Hinata, and Shino! Hey long time no see guys." Naruto shouted out at the other team.

"H-hello." Hinata replied back shyly and Shino inclined his head.

"Geez, you guys too." Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

"So I see all 9 of this year's rookie Genin are taking the exam. I wonder how far we'll get, eh Sasuke?" Kiba said, clearly not catching Shikamaru's statement.

"You seem confidant Kiba." Sasuke observed, scoffing at the other boy's arrogance.

"We've done a lot of training. We won't lose to you."

Instead of the outburst everyone expected from Naruto, he started snickering. He glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke and Sakura who were thinking along the same lines. They all highly doubted the others had ever been up against a Jounin or someone as skilled as Haku.

The other rookies gazed at team 7 in noticeable shock. Naruto wasn't yelling, Sasuke wasn't insulting Naruto, and Sakura wasn't hanging off Sasuke or yelling at Naruto. Those weren't the only noticeable changes either. Naruto was standing there without his infamous orange jumpsuit on. Instead he was wearing a dark blue short sleeve tee shirt with an orange Uzumaki on the front, under his tee was a three quarter sleeve mesh shirt, he had on black standard shinobi pants (in a style similar to Kakashi's), and black ninja sandals. He still wore his weapon pouch on his right thigh and his Hitai-Ate on his forehead but now it was tied with black cloth instead of blue.

The overall effect was rather striking in Shikamaru's opinion. Without the orange jumpsuit you could see how slender and toned the blonde actually was, and while he was the same height he had been the last time Shikamaru had seen him, Naruto looked taller Shikamaru wasn't sure if that was due to the new clothing or a new confidence or both, but it looked good on him.

Shikamaru was curious how much stronger team 7 was now. He had heard all about their mission to Wave Country, and the two ninja who had come back with them, from his father. He knew Naruto was friends with one of them. He had seen the two around the village a couple of times. He wondered if Naruto got more training from the two, or if he was just friends with them. Shikamaru decided to put it to the back of him mind for now until he could observe more.

Just then, Naruto yelled out excitedly. "Haku, you made it." 

Haku and another walked up to their group. "Of course I did. You doubt me Naruto, I'm hurt." Haku wore a playful pout.

Naruto laughed and shook his head, "Doubt you? Never!"

Haku graced him with a sweet smile. "It's been a couple days, how are you? Hello Sasuke and Sakura." He acknowledged. .

"We're doing really good. Come here," Naruto said grabbing Haku by the wrist and pulling him closer to the group. "You have to meet everyone. We all were in the same Genin class in the academy." He told the older boy.

"Everyone this is Haku," He introduced.

The group of rookie ninja eyed the newcomer with undisguised interest. Each of them waved or nodded as Naruto pointed out who was who and their teams to Haku.

Haku bowed deeply to the group. "It is an honor to meet you all."

Once introductions were done Kiba decided to open his big mouth again, but this time he stuck his foot in it. "Ya know Naruto it's rude to drag a girl around like that." he pointed out.

Sakura started giggling, while Sasuke smirked, and Naruto's mouth dropped open. Haku blushed and laughed lightly behind the hand covering his mouth.

Kiba watched the four of them in confusion, going back over what he said to try and see what was so funny.

Naruto dragged his gaze from the top of Haku head to his feet. He tended to forget just how others saw Haku. Even he thought the older boy was a girl the first time he saw him, but at that time Haku had been dressed as a girl so he felt he couldn't really be faulted for that assumption. Haku's appearance hadn't changed all that much since their mission. He even still favored female clothing when he wore civilian clothes.

He had changed his missions and training outfit though. Now that he was a leaf ninja he no longer wore the Kirigakure pinstripe outfit, Hitai-Ate or hunter nin mask. Now he wore a pair of loose beige knee length shorts, a long sleeve light green tee, and his green haori with the white hemline and tied with a brown sash, two items he refused to part with. He still wore the same sandals and painted his nails a green to match his shirt. No longer did he put his hair up in the white bun holder, now he left it down but tied in a tail at the base of his neck with two locks of hair framing his face, the ends bound with metal hair cuffs.

Naruto kind of understood how he could be mistaken for a girl, but Kiba was in for a nasty surprise once Haku stopped laughing.

"I am not a girl," Haku said softly,  just loud enough for the group to hear.

"What!" Kiba yelped loudly.

"Hey you guys, you should be a little quieter." a boy with silver hair and large round glasses told them. This was the guy that had been following Haku. He stood next to the lot of them his hip cocked and a hand resting on the weapon pouch there. "You guys are just rookies out of the academy right? Screaming like a bunch of school girls, geez. This isn't a picnic."

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"This is Kabuto. I'm on his team for the exams." Haku injected on behalf of his teammate.

"Besides that, look behind you." Kabuto said, a grim smile on his face.

The rookies turned to look over their shoulders to find most of the participants glaring or scowling in their direction. "Those guys behind you," Kabuto pointed out the group of three ninja closest to them, "they are from the hidden Rain Village. They have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exam. You should quiet down before you cause a scene. Well, I guess I can't blame you too much if you are all rookies. You remind me of how I used to be."

"Kabuto, right?" Sakura asked, and when he nodded she continued, "So this is your second time?"

"No, my seventh time, this exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year."

"So you know quite a bit about the exam."

"That's right."

"Impressive." Naruto said, though he was wondering if the exam was really that hard or if Kabuto was just that weak.

"I'll do you guys a favor since you're all rookies. I'll share some info with you all with my nin-info cards." He held up a thick deck of cards.

"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke asked intrigued.

"Some guys you wanna know about? Yes, I have info on all participants in the exam, but it's not perfect. Even you guys. Tell me something about the person and I'll tell you what I have on them."

"Gaara from the hidden Sand and Rock Lee from the Leaf."

"Well that's no challenge; you already know their names." Kabuto quickly swiped two cards from the deck and held them up, the backs facing the group. Naruto watched with increasing interest while Sasuke just demanded to see them.

"First up is Rock Lee. Nothing impressive, his Taijutsu has improved over the year, his Sensei is Gai, and he has completed 20 D Rank and 12 C Rank missions. Teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. Next is Gaara of the Desert. Completed 8 C Rank and 1 B Rank mission, came back from all missions without a scratch. Since he's a newcomer I don't have much info on him. There are a lot of talented Genin from the various hidden villages."

"Makes you lose your confidence," Hinata muttered quietly. Sakura was the only one close enough to hear her.

"So what you're saying is…" Sakura prompted the silver haired teen to continue.

"Everyone here is like Gaara and Lee, the top elite Genin from the various countries."

Naruto grimaced. After seeing Lee kick Sasuke's ass so thoroughly, all he could think was 'this wasn't going to be easy.' But that had never deterred him before and it certainly wasn't going to now. He had faith that Kakashi knew what he was doing when he nominated them to take the exam.

Naruto looked around at his friends and noted the many nervous or anxious looks, minus Sasuke who would never show that sort of emotion even if he was nervous, and Shikamaru who just looked sleepy like usual. "Come on guys, don't get so down on yourselves. We're the Rookie 9, the best of our year, and do you really think our Sensei's would have nominated us if they didn't think we'd have a chance? We have to do our best and show our Sensei's they weren't wrong to nominate all of us."

The change in the group was clearly noticeable to Haku and Kabuto. They all stood a little straighter and their faces showed more confidence and less doubt. The blonde's absolute faith and unrelenting support of his friends filled Haku with a sense of happiness. He was happy that he and Zabuza had met Naruto and team 7, as well as taking the chance to come here with them. He was happy and he felt right then in that moment, that no matter what happened as long as Naruto was around he would keep being happy.

…

The man leading the group of Leaf Shinobi was an intimidating person. He towered over most of the ninja who were with him. Not only that, he had a scar spanning the length of his face, diagonally temple to chin. "Thank you for waiting. I am Ibiki Morino, the examiner for the Chuunin Selection Exam first test. To start, just let me say, there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiners. Even if permission is given, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?" He told the room, the threat clear in his voice.

"We will now start the first test in the Chuunin Exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you," He held up a white tile with a number on it for the room to see. We will the hand out the exams."

'Well this can't be a good sign' Naruto thought. Paper tests were probably the worst test they could throw at him. He'd never been good with them and he didn't see that changing now. He got his numbered tab and sat in his seat trying not to feel too dejected yet, after all, there could be some trick to it, or it could be easier than he was assuming.

Sakura looked over at her teammate, who had his hands buried in his hair, and felt a pang of sympathy for him. She knew Naruto didn't do very well with paper tests and hoped things worked out. They made it this far, and to fail here would be disheartening. Sasuke was only worried about being held back by his idiot of a teammate.

"Naruto." A voice spoke softly from his left.

He raised his head to see Hinata sitting next to him. He hadn't even noticed that she was there. "Oh, hey Hinata."

"Let's do our best." She said, giving him a shy smile.

"Do not turn your tests over yet." Ibiki ordered. "Listen closely to what I am about to say. There are many important rules to this first test. I'll write them on the board while I explain but questions will not be allowed so listen carefully."

"First rule, you all start off with 10 points. The test is made up of 10 questions and each question is worth one point, but this test uses a subtraction system. If you answer all 10 questions correctly you will keep your 10 points, but if you get 3 questions wrong you will lose 3 points leaving you with 7 points."

"The second rule, this is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So each team will compete to see how many points they can hold onto from the initial team total of 30 points."

"The third rule is that during the exam anyone caught by the testing officers doing anything sneaky, namely cheating, will have 2 points subtracted for every offence. Those who lose all their points will be asked to leave."

"The final rule, those that lose all their points during the test and those that don't answer any questions correctly will be failed along with their 2 teammates." After that announcement the room was filled with shuffling bodies and hushed voices.

Naruto winced and slid down in his seat a little. He knew Sakura and Sasuke had their eyes on him, if anyone screwed this up for their team it would be him and he knew it. Sweat started to bead along his hair line as his nerves got the best of him.

"The exam will last one hour. Begin."

…

Naruto flipped his test over. After skimming through the first few questions he once again buried his hands in his hair and bowed he head. Answering those questions was going to be nearly impossible. He tugged on his hair a little harder, the sharp pain focusing him and he forced his body to relax. He was never going to get through this if he kept panicking, he just needed to think.

Naruto knew what he needed to do. He needed to cheat, but how to do it without being caught? Ninjutsu was out of the question, he didn't have any jutsus that would be helpful. He didn't have a bloodline ability like Sasuke. So what was left? Kakashi had been working on sealing with him but all he had learned so far were basics. While running through the list of seals he knew, he got a surprise in the form of a kunai flying past his head. It was close enough he could smell the steel and hear the whistle as it flew by and imbedded in the desk behind him.

The guy behind Naruto jumped up in shock and yelled. "What the hell was that for?"

"You messed up 5 times. You fail," Said one of the officers. "The two on his team, get out of here. Right now."

Naruto wasn't one to ever give up but he couldn't come up with any good ways to cheat without getting caught, then Hinata said his name again but this time he almost missed it, she spoke so quietly. He tilted his head slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You can look at my test if you want." She said, in that same soft barely there voice, and he was a little surprised she didn't stutter once.

"Why would you risk yourself like that Hinata?"

"Because I want to see you make it through. The 9 of us are the only rookies here and we need to stick together." She told him, her face downcast.

He smiled brightly when she looked his way again. "Hinata, you don't understand…" He couldn't risk getting Hinata in trouble. It went against his ninja code. If only there was a way that didn't require her to do anything at all.

He froze as a thought occurred to him, and he suddenly wanted to slap himself in the face at the same time as jump up in his excitement. He settled for bouncing his leg giddily, and counted the steps off on one hand. Four. Even if the proctors saw everything he could still get one point. Sasuke and Sakura were smart enough to manage the rest. He didn't know how he missed it earlier but this would work. "Hinata, if you really want to let me copy you just don't react."

Hinata frowned, confused at what Naruto was doing and his change of attitude all of a sudden.

He carefully arranged his legs so they hid his hands from view under the table and ran through a set of signs he'd known for years. A quick substitution jutsu later, minus the henge, no sense in making unnecessary smoke, and he was looking down at Hinata's paper. He erased her name, flipped it over and drew a Copy seal on the back. Then he reversed the justu.

Hinata blinked when she found herself staring down at Naruto's paper. She briefly wondered what he was up to and if she was meant to rewrite her answers, but decided to have faith in him and wait for further instructions. Her faith was rewarded when her own paper was returned a few seconds later.

Naruto drew a similar seal on the back of his own paper. The two seals were a set pair, connected. Kopī to Haichi seals. Jounin were taught this set of seals when they make their rank. The seals were used during missions where you needed to take info from a scroll or important piece of paperwork but couldn't take the info itself.

The copy seal was placed on whatever it was you wanted to copy and the placement seal was put on something for the copy to be transferred to. You infuse the placement seal with a little chakra and it was done. Once the copying was finished both seals disappeared and left no trace behind. And the best part was both seals were simple in design and took no time at all for him use.

Hinata watched out of the corner of her eye as her writing appeared on Naruto's page.She was amazed that he knew something so advanced.

When he was finished he instructed Hinata to rewrite her name on her test and he did the same. Naruto looked at the clock and found they had 15 minutes left before they would find out what question 10 was.

…

Naruto and Hinata listened as number after number was called and teams were failed, some having to be forcefully removed from the room. At the 45 minute mark Ibiki called attention to himself.

"Now we will begin question 10. Before we get to it though, there are a few more added rules: the rules of desperation. First for the 10th question you must decide if you will take it."

"Choose? What happens if we choose not to?" The blonde from the Sand Village called out.

"If you choose not to your points will be reduced to zero and you fail along with your two teammates." There was a lot of commotion and yelling but Ibiki just spoke over everyone. "Now the other rules. If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly that person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin Exam again."

The yelling increased in volume. One person was heard above the others asking about the Genin who had taken the exam before.

"You guys were unlucky. This year it's my rules. But I'm giving you a way out. Those that aren't confidant can choose not to take it and try again next year. Now let's begin. Those that do not want to take it raise your hand and once your number has been confirmed you can leave."

It was a lose/lose situation and Naruto was well aware he may not be able to answer the question. In fact it was more than likely he would get it wrong but he knew he wouldn't raise his hand. If he did that it would not only fail himself but also Sasuke and Sakura, he wouldn't be the reason they couldn't go on. At least if he went ahead and tried for the 10th question it would only be his neck he was risking.

"I'll ask one more time. Your life is riding on this decision, this is your last chance to quit." Ibiki looked around the room and when no one else stood to leave he decided not to keep stretching it out anymore. "Good decision. Now everyone remaining…I congratulate you on passing the first test."

"We passed." Sakura said, her voice filled with disbelief. "What about the 10th question?"

"There never was such a thing. Or you could say those two choices were question 10."

Naruto basically tuned out the rest of the yelling. They passed the first test and it could only get better now. He tuned back in when Ibiki wished them luck and a dark blur broke through the window.

A woman landed in front of Ibiki who was shaking his head in exasperation. "You guys this is no time to be celebrating." She yelled at the remaining Genin. "I am the examiner for the second test, Anko Mitarashi. Now let's go, follow me." She paused and counted the remaining Genin and then turned to Ibiki. "78! Ibiki you left 26 teams. The test was too easy this time." She said angrily.

"This time there are a lot of outstanding ones." He replied.

"Bah, that's fine. I'll cut them in half in the second test." She turned back to the participants, hearing the murmurs of dissent. "I'll explain everything once we change places, now follow me.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be able to post the next chapter for at least 2 weeks. I hope everyone will be patient and as soon as I am able I will get this updated.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 

"This time there are a lot of outstanding ones." He replied.

"Bah, that's fine. I'll cut them in half in the second test." She turned back to the participants, hearing the murmurs of dissent. "I'll explain everything once we change places. Now follow me."

 

Team 7 stood at a fenced area, surrounded by many of the ninja that had passed the first test. Sakura clutched her hands to her chest nervously, and Sasuke stood on one side of her looking up at the fence impassively.

"This place is creepy," muttered Naruto thoughtlessly.

When the moderator, Anko, appeared and started talking about The Forest of Death, Naruto couldn't help but think she fit well in this place. Both the area and the woman were creepy. She jumped down from the branch she had been standing on and pulled out a stack of papers from her jacket.

"You all must sign these agreement forms. There will be deaths during this test and if you don't sign this piece of paper it will be my responsibility." Anko said all of this with a grin on her face. "I'm going to explain the second test, and you will sign this paper after I'm finished then go and check in at that booth over there."

The explanation was long for a survival test with no rules. Basically what it amounted to was get a scroll, go into the forest, do whatever it takes to get a scroll that you don't already have, and make it to the tower in the center within 5 days.

With their scroll in hand they made their way to gate 12 where someone was waiting to let them into the forest. With Naruto in the lead, Sakura and Sasuke followed him passed the gate and into the forest to start the second test.

...

Right off the bat Naruto's nerves got the better of him and he had to excuse himself for a moment, much to the displeasure of his two teammates. When a false Naruto came back Sasuke took him out no problem.

Sakura was starting to become more and more discouraged. She thought she had gained more confidence and had improved, but with just two observations Sasuke had pointed out a major weakness on her part. She had improved in most areas except one; she still paid more attention to Sasuke than she did to her other teammate or her surroundings.

Naruto was found not too far away, tied up and struggling to get out of his bonds. Naruto turned his head away in shame while Sasuke cut the ties binding Naruto's hands and feet together. Once free Naruto rubbed at his wrists and ankles.

Sasuke stood looking down at Naruto, his arms crossed, and an arrogant smirk crossing his face.

Naruto jerked his head up, glared at his teammate, and growled at him, "Don't even say it Sasuke. I don't need to hear it."

Naruto got up and turned his back on Sasuke and Sakura. He walked back in the direction they had come from without saying anything else to either of them. Sasuke scowled at Naruto's retreating form but closed his mouth and followed, with Sakura falling into step with him.

When they reached the clearing where Naruto had separated from the team, they took a moment to sit and come up with a plan for if they separate for any reason. The password was ridiculous and long but Naruto held his tongue and just went along with it.

Getting separated was expected and when it happened once again Naruto wasn't too worried. He just hoped Sakura stuck close to Sasuke; Sasuke would be able to protect the both of them. What wasn't expected was the enormous snake that appeared out of nowhere. Then again the proctor did say that there were dangerous creatures in the forest.

Naruto kept his eyes on the giant snake and tried to think a way out of the situation he found himself in. It would be difficult to kill, but he figured if he could distract it he could get away; it was a mindless animal after all. But when the snake's tail wrapped itself around Naruto's body he didn't see any way out without killing it. Then it swallowed him and Naruto found himself in an even worse predicament.

…

Sasuke and Sakura faced another false Naruto. This one was a ninja from the new, unknown Sound Village. This one pulled out a Heaven scroll and seemed to know they needed one. The Sound ninja taunted them with the scroll and then swallowed it. Sasuke and Sakura appeared to be at a loss for words, both a little amazed and disgusted by the act.

The amount of killing intent froze Sasuke and Sakura in place. It was so strong they saw their deaths played out in front of their eyes. The killing intent was so much more than either of them had ever felt, so much more than even Zabuza could produce.

Sakura fell to her knees, shaking in fear, and tears streaming down her face. Sasuke knew they were in a bad situation and needed to get out now. He fought with his body to get his hand to move. His weapon pouch wasn't that far away from his hand but it was taking everything he had just to twitch his hand in the right direction.

Sasuke finally got a hold of a kunai and slowly got his hand back to the front of his body. Two kunai flew in Sakura's direction, and suddenly he was free from the intense killing intent, He didn't think, just moved as fast as he could push himself. In the blink of an eye Sakura was free and sitting in front of Sasuke, watching him pull a kunai out of his thigh.

…

Naruto didn't even bother panicking; he was in too much of a rush to get back to his team for that. He ran through a list of possible ways to get out. A kunai wouldn't work too small and would take too much time. He didn't have any seals that would work in a situation like this. His Ninjutsu list was limited, but he figure since he needed the snake to spit him out he would just stuff it full. So it all came down to his trusty Shadow Clone Jutsu. He produced as many clones as he could, and the result didn't disappoint since he made the snake explode instead of spit him out. Covered in slime, blood, and guts he left and started to see if he could find his missing teammates.

…

The snake silently slithered down the tree and hung from a branch above Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura was the one to see it and bring it to Sasuke's attention. They leapt back just seconds before the snake lunged at them and hit the branch in the spot they had been hiding. It didn't stop there though, the snake went right after Sasuke and kept him moving, not giving him a moment to breath.

When Sasuke finally killed it with a couple well placed shuriken, he landed on a branch panting for breath. Sasuke's face showed all of his shock when the ninja they had been working to get away from burst through the skin of the dead snake. Now the lower half of the ninja's body was that of a snake. It went after Sasuke so fast he had no time to move out of its path.

The kunai and shuriken that halted the snake-ninja were a surprise, and not an unwanted one. And when Sasuke heard the apology in Naruto's voice, he would never admit it, but it was the happiest he'd ever been to see the blonde.

Even with Naruto, Sasuke knew none of them were even close to this guys level and he tried to get Naruto to run. He knew it was pointless since Naruto didn't know the meaning of retreat, but he did his damnedest to get the blonde to run.

…

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived in time to stop Sasuke from being hurt or killed. He ignored Sasuke when he yelled at Naruto to run. When Sasuke offered up their scroll, Naruto forgot about controlling his emotions and saw red.

Naruto's clarity came to him in flashes. One minute he was standing on a branch somewhere above Sasuke and the next he was standing next to his teammate and punching him in the face. Then the Sound ninja was summoning a snake easily twice the size of the one that had swallowed Naruto.

It hit Naruto in mid-air and knocked him into a branch. Naruto knew he was forgetting something. He had gotten hit hard enough to break bones but he felt no pain. He was trying to remember what he had forgotten, and in the process his body was moving without any input from his brain.

Sakura saw the change in Naruto, his strength and speed drastically increased, and she recalled the discussion they had with Haku. Now she got to see the Kyuubi's chakra working through her friend first hand.

The snake knocked Naruto away again and went right for Sasuke. It moved faster than Sasuke thought possible and was inches away from him when it stopped suddenly. Naruto was in between Sasuke and the snake without Sasuke even registering his presence.

"Hey, you alright? Scaredy-cat." Naruto taunted.

Sasuke opened his mouth to snap at Naruto but his breath caught in his throat when Naruto lifted his head to look Sasuke in the eye. Sasuke saw what Haku had been talking about that day: red colored irises, slitted pupils, the black markings around his eyes, and his whisker markings more defined than usual.

Haku was right, Naruto was more intimidating like this. Following that though was he should not be intimidated by Naruto of all people. Sasuke had no idea what to do. Naruto was holding off this gigantic snake by himself and Sasuke was just standing there dumbfounded.

Something slimy and pliant grabbed Naruto around the waist and lifted him off his feet. Face to face with the Sound ninja he saw it was a tongue and was a little grossed out by it. He held Naruto in place with his tongue and started making hand signs, when he was done all five fingertips of one hand looked like they were covered by fire. With his free hand the other ninja lifted Naruto's shirts and found the visible seal on his stomach. He jabbed his hand into the seal, causing Naruto to shout out a harsh scream.

Sasuke and Sakura saw the ninja drop Naruto who was now unconscious. Naruto had been using the Kyuubi's chakra but was still rendered useless by this Sound ninja. If Naruto couldn't take him down using the Kyuubi's chakra what kind of chance did Sasuke have? It took Sakura screaming at him that he was a coward to snap him out of his self-imposed pity.

He was not a coward. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to take on the other ninja but he couldn't just run. His brother's emotionless face popped into his mind. He wasn't strong enough yet but he would be. He would do anything to get strong enough to kill Itachi and nothing would stand in his way, not even this unknown ninja.

Sasuke closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and cleared his mind. He could do this. Even if he was only able to hold the other guy off, he would do it. When he opened his eyes his Sharingan had been activated. He reached both hands into his weapon pouch and pulled out as many weapons as he had the skill to use all at once.

Sasuke thought he might have gotten one up on the ninja with his Dragon Fire Jutsu, but that didn't do much except melt the guy's face. The shocking part was under the melted skin was another face, not like the one they had seen, and the skin was unmarked.

"Orochimaru was not a name that either Sasuke or Sakura would ever forget, nor would they forget the sight of his neck elongating and his head flying toward them to bite Sasuke. It was painful and dropped Sasuke to his knees.

Orochimaru faded into the branch he had been standing on without an explanation on what he had just done to Sasuke, only saying Sasuke would seek him out for power.

Sasuke only barely registered the words but had no chance to reply or even think about them; his whole body was on fire.

Sakura stood with her hands hovering over Sasuke, who was curled over his knees shaking from the pain coursing through his body. She had no clue what to do for him. She had never seen Sasuke like this and it was scaring her. Sweat was pouring down his face and she could hear his teeth grinding together as he tried to keep any sounds of distress at bay.

Sakura grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, trying to give any sort of comfort she could. When the sounds could no longer be contained, he let out a pained scream and toppled over to his side, leaning all his weight on Sakura. Silent tears leaked from her eyes, leaving streaks on her dirt covered cheeks. That's when she caught a glimpse of the black mark on the juncture of Sasuke's neck and shoulder.

Sakura now had two unconscious teammates on her hands, and no idea what was wrong with either of them or what to do at this point. She let her tears fall for another moment, then cleaned her face and took a good look at their surroundings. They were up off the ground but the whole area was wide open. She couldn't protect Naruto and Sasuke where they were. She leapt over to where Naruto was hanging from a kunai pierced through his shirt to the tree. Sakura grabbed Naruto and laid him next to Sasuke. As much as she didn't want to do it, she would have to leave the two of them and find a place close by that was easily defendable.

She found what she was looking for easy enough. It was an opening at the base of the tree her teammates were resting on. Sakura moved them, one by one, into the clearing under the tree and set up some traps. With the traps in place and Sasuke and Naruto resting for the moment, she left them where they were and went in search of water.

Back at their makeshift camp, she soaked some bandages with the water and placed them on Sasuke's forehead, trying to bring down the fever that started raging through him. She noted his breathing returned to normal, but his face was pinched and showed he was feeling pain even sleeping.

She sat back and watched them closely, determined to keep her team safe. Sakura was exhausted and it was a fight to keep her eyes open. Then one of her trap was triggered, putting her on high alert. She pulled out a kunai and waited. She let out a gust of air when a squirrel scampered out from under a bush.

The three Sound ninja that showed up demanding Sasuke scared her only slightly less than Orochimaru. Sakura deduced that they probably would not be as strong as Orochimaru but they were more than likely stronger than her. She knew it wasn't a smart move demanding answers from these guys but she didn't have much of a choice. She needed information on what exactly was done to Sasuke so she could let someone know when they finished this test. And there was no question; they would finish it. She had that much faith in Naruto and Sasuke.

The Sound nin set off and avoided all of Sakura's traps when they charged her. Sakura had braced herself for their combined attack when a green blur positioned itself between her and the three ninja, knocking them all back in separate directions. Sakura fell to her knees, her sudden relief causing her muscles to relax. She looked up at the figure standing in front of her; it was Rock Lee. They both knew she was in no condition to fight but she wasn't going to leave it all up to Lee to protect her team, not while she still had the ability to move.

…

Teams 8 and 10 had shown up by the time Sasuke woke up. His return to consciousness might have been a good thing if it hadn't been for the black markings that spanned from the left side of his face, down his neck, and ending at his fingertips. The chakra surrounding him had a sinister feel to it and his face was twisted into a fierce scowl. When he spoke, his voice was low and gravelly.

The marks began to spread over the rest of Sasuke's face and then he attacked the three Sound ninja. He played with them like a child with toy soldiers. If he had put any effort into the fight it would have been a massacre. Sakura could only watch in horror as her teammate tortured one of the ninja. The grin on Sasuke's face showed a sadistic joy. The breaking of bones made her flinch.

Sasuke showed no sign of stopping and Sakura finally opened her mouth and started screaming at him to stop. She begged, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. Sakura had no energy left. She couldn't move, and Sasuke wasn't listening to her.

…

Naruto could hear Sakura's shrill voice piercing through the darkness that tried to keep him under. He could hear the fear in her voice but didn't catch the words. He opened his eyes and groaned at the bright light that stabbed at his pupils. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision he sat up slowly. Naruto could still hear Sakura's voice and crawled toward her.

Out from under the tree, he could see the scene clearly. It took a matter of seconds to register where everyone was and the state they were in. Sakura looked the worse of any of them, not counting the ninja lying at Sasuke's feet.

Naruto had no clue what had happened to the ninja they had been fighting before he had passed out or where these other ninja came from, but he could now hear what Sakura was saying. She was begging for Sasuke to stop, and from the look of the guy on the ground Sasuke had done a number on him.

Naruto pushed himself to his feet and walked past Sakura. The closer he got to Sasuke the clearer the black markings became. Naruto could feel the sinister threat pouring from the unnatural chakra surrounding his friend, and while he may not know what was going on he knew that Sasuke needed to be stopped. No good would come from anyone using chakra that felt like that.

"Sasuke," It came out as a rough whisper but the clearing was so quiet at that point everyone could hear Naruto.

Sasuke obviously heard Naruto say his name and hesitated before taking his next step. Naruto could see that talking wasn't getting anywhere, and he hoped his friend was still in there somewhere because this wasn't the Sasuke he knew.

Naruto walked up behind Sasuke, and as he was about to take another step, Naruto reached out with both arms and wrapped them around Sasuke, pulling him back against Naruto. Sasuke's body was rigid with barely suppressed tension. Naruto had both his hands pressed flat to Sasuke's chest, and he could feel Sasuke's heart beating rapidly under his palms.

Naruto rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke quietly in his ear. "Sasuke, if you are going to kill them, do it, but don't do this. We only torture if we have no other choice, and you have a choice here. You have already proven you are stronger than them, so please stop." It was a desperate plea and Naruto prayed that Sasuke would hear him.

Naruto watched the black markings recede from Sasuke's arms and neck. He let out a shuddering breath and pressed his forehead to Sasuke's shoulder. When the black mark had retreated as far as it could go all the tension left Sasuke and he slumped further on to Naruto who supported all his weight. Naruto lowered Sasuke to a sitting position on the ground and knelt next to him, resting a hand on the back of the raven's neck. Naruto was afraid if he stopped touching the other boy the sinister chakra would return.

Sasuke allowed the contact, using the heat radiating off the blonde to ground himself. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.

The Sound ninja left a scroll for them and carried their wounded off, claiming they weren't strong enough to beat Sasuke. Sasuke watched them leave, a tired scowl plastered to his face. When the enemy was completely out of sight, he leaned fully on the blonde, allowing himself a moment of weakness and not caring about the shocked gazes of the surrounding Konoha ninja.

Sakura was envious of Naruto; he pulled off what she couldn't. He got Sasuke to stop and got those black marks to leave. Naruto seemed so comfortable embracing Sasuke, like he always did it; even though Sakura had never seen them touch outside of sparring. She wondered if she had tried to stop Sasuke like Naruto had would he have stopped for her too. And now Sasuke was practically in the blonde's lap. She bit back her resentment and took Ino up on the offer to fix her raggedly shorn hair.

While Neji waited for Tenten to retrieve their recently conscious teammate, his eyes never left the Uchiha. He knew the Uchiha clan were once revered as some of the most powerful ninja in history, but seeing such ruthless power with his own eyes was still unsettling.

Shikamaru was baffled. He liked to believe that was an uncommon state for him. The chakra that had surrounded Sasuke was like nothing he had ever witnessed, blood-thirsty and terrifying. It definitely had not belonged to the Uchiha. The black marks had retreated into a single mark on Sasuke's neck at the same moment the dark chakra had faded. The two events were clearly linked, but he couldn't imagine what could have happened to team seven to create such a mark.

He also couldn't help but notice the lopsided dynamic in team seven. Even at the academy Naruto had always divided his focus between Sasuke and Sakura, rival and crush. But now the hyperactive blonde was ignoring Sakura completely in favor of Sasuke, and the raven-haired boy was returning the favor. Even more surprising was that, even in the grip of the dark chakra, Sasuke had reacted to a mere whisper from Naruto when Sakura's ear-piercing screams couldn't reach him. Team seven had become a puzzle, and Shikamaru liked puzzles.

When Naruto finally pulled his attention away from Sasuke long enough to ask what happened, it was Sakura who answered, in the simplest form possible. She gave a careless wave in the direction of the others, "They all helped out."

Naruto flashed a sincere grin at the group. "Thanks," was all he said.

Shikamaru was trapped by a sapphire gaze. For a single moment, just one, a member of Konoha's Nara clan stopped thinking.

…

On The afternoon of day two found Team 7 beside a river. Naruto had stripped down to his boxers and was working on catching fish, he wasn't making much progress and Sasuke watched with concealed amusement while Naruto struggled at his task. The blonde had filled out a bit and Sasuke was willing to admit that he was enjoying the show. Just to torment the blonde further, Sasuke snagged three fish that breached the surface with a few well-aimed kunai.

Kabuto stumbling on to their camp was an unexpected surprise but Naruto was happy to find out Haku was still part of the test and that Kabuto had only gotten separated from Haku and his other teammate. They found out Kabuto had both scrolls and was going to meet with them at the tower.

Sasuke wanted to fight Kabuto for his Heaven Scroll but Naruto argued against that course of action since Kabuto had helped them before. Plus the blonde flat out refused to risk Haku's chances in the exam, much to Sasuke's irritation.

Kabuto offered to help them again and they followed him in the direction of the tower. As they got closer to the tower, they ran into another team. This time the battle was brief and breathtakingly easy. Naruto had to wonder if the ninja they had faced in the forest so far had been genin at all, especially since they all seemed to be after Sasuke rather than the scrolls.

After defeating this new team, they finally had the Heaven Scroll they had been searching for. They spent the night resting and made it to the tower mid-morning on day three. At the tower Kabuto left them to meet up with his team and promised to let Haku know that Naruto and his team made it.

Opening the scrolls revealed Iruka and the passing of the second test. Since they had two and a half days left before the second test concluded, they were shown to rooms in the tower for them to stay.

…

The next morning there was a knock on the door of the room Sasuke and Naruto were sharing. Sakura had already joined the boys earlier that morning and all of them were laying around, getting what rest they could before the third test started.

Kakashi entered the room and explained he would have to take Sasuke with them for a little while. He explained to all of them what the mark on Sasuke was and who it was that put it on him. He let them know he was going to seal it so it wouldn't cause Sasuke any more problems and left, with Sasuke in tow.

The sealing process only took a couple hours. Kakashi carried a passed out Sasuke to his room and asked Naruto to take care of him. He told the blonde that Sasuke would be fine by the next night. Naruto moved his futon to lay next to the unconscious Uchiha. He fell asleep that night watching the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest.

Naruto barely left Sasuke's side the next day, using every excuse to touch the brunette and generally making Sakura feel like a third wheel, even as she fussed over Sasuke herself. For his part, Sasuke seemed shaken enough to allow the attention without too much protest.

By the morning of the fifth day, Sasuke was back to his old emotionless self and Naruto and Sakura could barely contain their relief.

…

At the start of the Third Test, all teams that had passed the Second were lined up in a big open room. Naruto wasted no time catching Haku's eye and waving frantically before flashing the other boy a thumbs-up. Haku smiled and waved back before snapping to attention with his team. Sasuke clenched his jaw and attempted to tune out the blonde's antics.

The Hokage stood in front of the room on a raised platform. All the Jounin Sensei's were there as well as a few Chunin and the Proctor.

"First off, for the Second Test, congratulations on passing," The Hokage's voice boomed out over all the passing Genin. "Now I will explain the Third Test."

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_"First off, for the Second Test, congratulations on passing," The Hokage's voice boomed out over all the passing Genin. "Now I will explain the Third Test."_

…

Naruto stood surrounded by Genin who had passed the second test. He looked around and observed them all. Ino was fawning over Sasuke; He had to roll his eyes, some things would never change. He smiled fondly at Choji complaining about food and Shikamaru looking sleepy and disgruntled at the proceedings. Sasuke was standing behind Naruto and Sakura behind him.

Rock lee was smiling brightly with his two teammates standing around him listening to the Hokage stoically. Not far from Rock Lee's team were the Sound ninja. The two males of the team were looking angrily in Sasuke's direction. Naruto pushed them to the back of his mind there wasn't anything he could do about them.

He turned back to the Hokage who was finishing his speech about the Chuunin Exams. When he mentioned the Preliminaries a ripple of dissent went through the crowd of Genin. They hadn't even had a chance to rest and now they would be required to go one on one against another ninja in a fight.

Genma Hayate came out to introduce himself as the proctor and explain the rules of the preliminary round of the exams. When he asked if anyone wanted to leave Kabuto was the only one to go.

…

All the Genin and their Sensei's retired to the balconies to watch the viewing screen and see who was chosen first.

**Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado.**

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder before he moved to descend from the balcony. "Do whatever it takes to win but try to keep some of your skills to yourself. I have no doubt you'll win so you need to keep something as a surprise for the third test." He spoke quietly enough that the surrounding teams couldn't hear and Sakura and Naruto had gathered close enough that all three nodded in understanding. "Good luck," He told Sasuke and let him go.

Sasuke met the other ninja in the center of the arena and hunched his shoulders as if he were still in pain. He scowled at the shinobi, Sasuke hated putting on this act and holding back but Kakashi had a point. Not only that but he had no idea who this ninja was or what he could do, so being underestimated right now was probably in his best interest. Hayate called a start to the match and both ninja leapt back, putting some distance between them.

Sasuke pulled a kunai and knocked away the shuriken that came flying at him. He made it look like he lost his balance and fell to his side. It worked to get Yoroi close but Sasuke wasn't expecting him to jump and try to land a hit to his head. He kicked his leg out quickly and slid himself out of the way.

Yoroi's fist landed on the concrete where Sasuke's head had just been. Sasuke used the kunai still clutched in his hand to put a hole in the floor. He used the kunai now embedded in the floor to swing his lower body around and kicked at Yoroi's arm trying to break it.

It didn't work how Sasuke wanted it to. Yoroi twisted his whole body with the kick and landed a backhand to Saskue's sternum, knocking the breath out of him. Sasuke clutched at his chest wheezing. This was not going at all how he wanted it too but he needed Yoroi to show him something. He didn't want or need to use the Sharingan yet. It wasn't like this guy was fast, it just seemed like he got a burst of strength.Sasuke figured he must have lost focus at some point, trying to force air back into his lungs, because the next thing he knows there is a palm covering his forehead and eyes; fingertips are digging into the top of his head and his whole body falls limp.

This was bad. Sasuke never expected nor had he known of anyone who could drain chakra. He had almost no energy left but he knew he couldn't allow Yoroi to keep going; so he kicked at the ninja with his remaining strength, knocking him back a few feet to his knees.

Sasuke pushed himself up on weak shaky legs but almost couldn't keep himself standing. Naruto was yelling at him. He looked up at the angry blonde and thought furiously about what to do. He would win this fight but now he really couldn't use his Sharingan. He didn't have the chakra to maintain it.

An idea came to him when his eyes landed on Lee who was standing next to Naruto. The move he had copied from his fight with Lee would work perfectly. He just needed to pull it off on the first try otherwise he was done for. So Sasuke turned his focus back to his opponent and braced himself when Yoroi charged at him.

The move itself wasn't hard to set up, but mid-way through he could feel the strain on his body and fatigue set in. He could hear the astonished gasps and murmurs. Sasuke smirked and completed the Leaf Shadow Dance perfectly. The landing, however, could have used some work. Sasuke landed rather painfully once the last of his strength left him.

Sasuke sat up and watched the proctor check Yoroi and announce Sasuke as the victor. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief and started to fall back when Kakashi appeared behind him and propped him up with his leg. Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and reappeared at the top of the balcony where they could finish watching the rest of the matches.

…

Naruto had watched the whole match committing every move Sasuke made to memory. Even as undignified as the end was, Naruto was impressed. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud. He looked over at Haku who had stationed himself in between Naruto and Sakura.

The older boy glanced down at Naruto with a gentle smile. "That was something else." He said quietly. Naruto grinned up at him and turned around when Kakashi appeared with a scuffed up Sasuke.

The Uchiha was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Naruto crouched down in front of his teammate and tapped his knee to get his attention. Sasuke cracked his eyes open and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Good job Sasuke." Naruto told him and flashed him a wide smile.

Sasuke smirked back at him, "Of course. What else did you expect?"

Naruto huffed out a quiet laugh and got back up to take his place between Haku and Lee. Sasuke closed his eyes again and tried to get back some of his energy.

…

**Shino Aburame vs. Kankuro**

The two Genin met in the middle of the arena as Naruto watched intently, waiting for the start of the match. He recognized the Sand ninja but had no idea what he could do. Naruto was ashamed to admit it but even though Shino was a part of his graduating class, he had no idea what he was capable of or if he had a specialty. The only thing he could recall was that he was part of a clan and was a very quiet person, blending into the background often.

At the start of the match both ninja stood motionless, each waiting for the other to make a move. After a few minutes of tense silence, Kankuro finally got impatient. He pulled the large bundle off his back and set it next to him on the floor with a thud. He stood with one hand on top of the bundle, arrogance pouring from him in waves, and Naruto silently cheered on Shino. He had no idea what his fellow Genin was capable of but the Sand nin needed to be brought down a couple of notches.

The bandages fell to reveal a four armed puppet. "Get ready, here we come." Kankuro jeered.

Shino pulled his hands from his pockets and held them both out in front of himself but said nothing. In the blink of an eye the puppet was speeding through the air across the arena. Naruto's eyes darted back to Shino in time to see his hands slowly being covered in black. He leaned a bit farther over the railing, trying to get a closer look to figure out what exactly the black stuff was, but he was just too far away. He opened his mouth to ask and hoped one of his teammates knew, but someone beat him to it.

When Neji started speaking Naruto turned his head to look over at the other boy and noticed he had activated his Doujutsu. Naruto turned back to the match, listening to Neji's explanation of the Aburame Clan while watching the current fight.

Bugs. They do his bidding and in exchange he lets them live in his body and feed off his chakra. That certainly explains a lot. I wonder if that's why he keeps to himself and doesn't speak much. I can see a lot of people finding that a bit creepy.

Naruto watched the puppet lift an arm and a dagger slid from its palm. He could now hear the faint buzz of insects as the swarm became larger, nearly covering Shino from fingertip to shoulder. As the puppet drew closer to Shino, he could hear its teeth chattering woodenly and shuddered. "Now that's creepy." He muttered loud enough for Haku, Sakura, and Sasuke to hear him.

Haku and Sakura looked at Naruto questioningly. "The bugs aren't so bad, but that doll is creepy," He told them with a shrug of his shoulders.

Sakura shuddered, "They're both creepy. I couldn't imagine letting anything like that live inside me."

Naruto knew she didn't mean anything by it but he kind of wanted to yell at her for that remark; instead all he said was 'I'd rather the bugs'. He saw the moment she realized what he was saying. She flinched and sent him an apologetic look. Haku gave him a small smile and bumped their shoulders together.

Naruto turned back to the fight just in time to see Shino dodge the dagger wielding puppet. With a twitch of Kankuro's fingers another arm of the puppet raised and shot a small ball in Shino's direction. It turned out to be a smoke bomb of some sort and Shino was lost among the smoke. Kankuro sent the puppet in as well and everyone watched for the smoke to clear with bated breath.

When it finally dispersed, Shino was left standing with the puppet only inches in front of him. Before he could move, the puppet's arm shot out and stabbed Shino in the stomach. Gasps went up among the Leaf Shinobi as Shino's form melted into thousands of bugs that swarmed the puppet. Kankuro moved jerkily trying to shake the insects but found much to his displeasure that they locked the joints, and that wasn't even the worst part. A moment after the puppet was swarmed with bugs, it fell to the ground. Kankuro stared in shock and jerked around angrily, looking for the real Shino.

Everyone had been so intent on what was happening with Kankuro's puppet and the bugs that no one noticed when Shino appeared behind Kankuro. He was standing not too far away from the Sand Ninja. Kankuro growled and raised his hands, perfectly content to take Shino out himself but found he couldn't move. He frowned and looked down at himself, not understanding why his body wouldn't respond, and found his own hands crawling with more bugs.

He looked at Shino in disbelief and fell to his knees, and then slumped to his side no longer able to hold himself up. The bugs cut the chakra strings and continued to syphon chakra from his body until he could no longer move at all.

The proctor announced Shino as the winner. The bugs swarmed Shino again and disappearing up his sleeves and down his collar. He leisurely made his way back to his team and the Sand's Sensei grabbed Kankuro. There was nothing the medics could do for chakra exhaustion so he went back to his team as well.

Naruto waited for Kiba and Hinata to say their congratulations before he caught Shino's attention. "Good job Shino," He told the other boy with a happy grin. He couldn't tell if there was an expression on Shino's face but was happy to receive a nod in thanks from him.

…

**Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka**

Naruto watched the two girls stand face to face and held his breath in anticipation. Sakura had come so far in such a short amount of time. He knew she could finish this fairly quickly. Unfortunately the longer he watched, the more disappointment replaced anticipation. His teammate was letting her head and friendship get in the way of the fight.

Naruto understood friendship and rivalry very well but he used that to better himself and he thought Sakura would have been able to see that what was between her and Ino was very similar to himself and Sasuke.

It was a pathetic match, with both kunoichi pulling their punches. Sakura was clearly better at hand to hand but she kept getting in her own way and she failed to see the trap Ino laid for her. In Ino's defense, it was a good trap, using her hair like that. Naruto had not seen it coming either.

Naruto dug his hands into his hair and tugged in frustration. It looked like it was all over for Sakura. He tried to keep his mouth shut but he just couldn't let her lose like that.

"Sakura!" He shouted. "Fight her. You did not work your ass off to get this far and lose."

He watched Ino falter and Sakura break through the Mind Transfer Jutsu but it cost her. She used so much energy to fight her way out, she was swaying. Ino stood and both girls faced off one last time. With a burst of speed they charged each other, both throwing a punch at the same time. Sakura was just a tiny bit faster and dodged the hit while hers connected, knocking Ino unconscious.

Sakura was declared the winner but it was a disappointing fight. Naruto and Haku congratulated her, when she reached them, and Lee went on an enthusiastic tirade before she interrupted him. Sakura made a fist and gently thumped Naruto on the head and muttered 'thanks' then went and sat next to a still unconscious Ino.

…

**Tenten vs. Temari**

The fight between those girls was brutal and fast. Tenten looked like she was throwing everything she had at Temari and none of it was touching the Sand Shinobi. Both were very talented but not well matched. Temari was just toying with the other kunoichi. Shikamaru, who was leaning against the railing beside Naruto predicted the outcome barely 30 seconds into the fight.

Temari won the match but disgraced herself at the end. Anyone who treats an opponent like trash does not deserve to call herself a shinobi.

…

**Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin Tsuchi**

Naruto was always amused by how reluctant Shikamaru was to do anything, but he was so capable. He just didn't realize how capable till he saw Shikamaru …Well he couldn't say fight now could he. The Shadow Bind Jutsu was not really offensive and he didn't have to physically touch the Sound Ninja; just strategically used a wall to knock her out.

Naruto was amazed at how little effort Shikamaru put into the match and still won in the end. He was curious what the other boy could do if he ever actually did put some effort in.

…

**Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka**

Naruto took a deep breath and began to make his way down to the arena floor. He could do this. He would win. Haku and Sensei worked with him and he had improved. It's what he told himself as he descended. Then the match began.

There was a time not too long ago where, if he had been faced with Kiba's jeers and insults, he would have lost his temper and screamed; railed and charged in without a second thought. Not this time. Naruto had no clue what his opponent could do or how fast he was. Kiba couldn't be faster than Haku but it was still a good idea to gather as much information as possible.

Kiba starts down on all fours and Naruto watches with interest as his opponent becomes even more feral looking than he already is, nails that grow to form claws, protruding canines, and wild hair. Naruto huffs mentally and can help but to think 'I bet I look scarier'. Too bad he can't make that transformation automatically, not to mention his seal is a bit messed up right at the moment.

Naruto didn't have any more time to observe because suddenly Kiba right there in his face and, 'wow fast,' but not nearly fast enough. Naruto dodged the intended body slam; he kicked Kiba in the stomach causing him to spin away. Kiba flipped himself and landed on all fours. Sliding backwards, he slowed his progression by flattening his hands.

Kiba cocked his head slightly, peering at Naruto with a mix of surprise, curiosity, and anger. That was not how it was supposed to go. There was a reason that Naruto was called Dead Last and he couldn't have changed that much in so little time. Naruto wasn't smirking or smiling, he wasn't bragging; he was just standing there as calm as could be, not even a little out of breath, and it was pissing Kiba off.

Naruto forced himself to be patient. He couldn't rush; he'd made that mistake before and the flash of a broken bloody Sasuke, in his mind, was enough to calm him. Kiba stayed down and Akamaru took his position next to his master. Kiba threw a smoke bomb at Naruto. With his vision blocked by the smoke and his sense of smell gone as well he could only hear his opponent's steps; it was a good thing neither of them were very light footed.

Naruto dropped to the floor and made two shadow clones. He whispered in the something in the first clone's ear then motioned for it to stay down and pulled his Hitai Ate off. He put his mouth as close as he could get it to the other clones ear and told it to transform into the forehead protector while he put the real one in his pocket. Naruto waited for Kiba and Akamaru to pass overhead, he picked up the transformed clone and stood, allowing himself to be hit and knocked out of the smoke. As soon as he cleared the smoke Akamaru was in his face, so he leaned to the side and used the dog's forward momentum to allow it to go sailing right past Naruto and back into the smoke.

Naruto allowed himself to hit the floor on his side and flung his hand out, sliding the hidden clone to the far wall so it was out of the way of the fight. He stood to face Kiba who was looking around searching for Akamaru. The small dog didn't appear until the smoke cleared, a few seconds later, to reveal a clone holding onto the dog. Kiba growled and pulled out a pellet. He tossed it to Akamaru and the dog caught it in his mouth. The small transformation caught Naruto and his clone off guard, the amount of strength in the tiny animal was surprising. He no longer had his first clone but Naruto wasn't worried; he was still confidant but he wasn't going to underestimate Kiba anymore.

Two Kibas and double the speed had Naruto dodging while trying to figure out what to do. His first plan hadn't gone the way he wanted; he should have taken Kiba out while the smoke was clearing and he swore at himself for that stupid oversight but there was nothing to do about it now. Naruto mentally shrugged and the next time his feet hit the floor he ran toward the hidden clone still lying in wait. When he was about a foot in front of it he stopped and faced the two Kibas and waited. It didn't take long for both of them to come flying at Naruto. He leapt into the air just as they neared and kicked down as hard as he could when they blurred beneath him.

Kiba hit the floor with a loud crack and didn't move or transform, it was the real Kiba. Akamaru was still moving toward the wall and Naruto's clone. Naruto watched it all in as if the dog were moving in slow motion and just before his feet hit the wall he yelled 'Now!' to the clone. Naruto's clone transformed and as Akamaru began to push off the wall, the clone grabbed his coat and yanked down. Akamaru flipped and was forced to his back; his breath pushed from his lungs in a great gust of air. The Kiba clone transformed back into Akamaru and the dog lay still, unconscious.

Naruto released his shadow clone and waited patiently to be declared the winner. It took his brain a minute to register the surprised chatter and cheers going on above him. He tipped his head back and smiled bright and wide. Sakura, Haku and Lee were cheering the loudest. He rushed up the stairs accepting congratulations along the way.

Sasuke smirked that damned almost smile at him, "Could've done better." Naruto's smiled didn't falter and he shook his head at his teammate. It was probably the closest he's get to a 'good job' from Sasuke.

Naruto went around Sasuke and grabbed Haku up into a tight hug; Haku laughed loudly and squeezed back. "You did it. Good work, Naruto-kun." He told him.

Naruto set the older boy down. "I couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you." Naruto said sincerely.

Naruto looked up when he felt a hand on the top of his head. "Good job Naruto."

He looked up at his Sensei, "Thanks Kakashi-Sensei." Naruto forced the words past the lump of emotions that decided to gather in his throat. Kakashi ruffled his blonde spikes and pulled his hand away to poke at his student's forehead. Naruto startled slightly, he'd completely forgotten his Hitai Ate was still in his pocket. He pulled it out, tied it back around his head and took his place back between Sasuke and Haku when the next match was called.

…

**Hinata Hyuga vs. Neji Hyuga**

Naruto got the run down on the Hyuga clan from Kakashi, Sakura, and Lee. He was never one for clan politics considering he'd never been part of one. However he was currently thinking that after the Finals he should probably start looking into that and made a note to ask Kakashi if he should start learning anything about the subject.

Naruto listened to Neji cruelly insult Hinata and thought he and Sasuke were way too much alike. Hinata was incredibly timid but Naruto didn't think she was weak. The more Naruto listened, the more he wanted to knock Neji out. He'd had way too many people call him a weak loser, to want to listen to someone say the same to another. He could see the poor girl's confidence shatter more and more with every word and pretty soon she would break. When he could see the tears building in her eyes he finally lost his temper. "Yes you can Hinata! Do not let him decide for you. You are stronger than he knows Hinata, kick his ass!" He shouted at her.

Neji glared at Naruto over his shoulder. When Neji looked back at Hinata instead of looking frightened and teary, her eyes had cleared and she looked determined. She activated her Doujutsu and took her stance.

Their fighting stances looked awkward and unfamiliar. It looked as if every blow was a glancing one and Naruto had to get someone to explain their fighting style and Doujutsu. Naruto couldn't help but be a little amazed at what the Hyuga were able to do. Their mastery of control was daunting as well and he didn't understand why Hinata would think she was weak.

Naruto watched the two fight and as much as he really didn't like Neji, he had to admire the way he moved. It came as a surprise when Neji was forced back a little ways because of Hinata. Naruto cheered Hinata on, he was proud of her for standing up for herself. He thought it was going well until Hinata was coughing up blood. But she didn't stop, she just pushed herself to keep going. When Hinata's arm was exposed, the red marks were clear as day and shocking to see.

The last blow knocked Hinata down, Naruto admired her resolve when she stood up again and wondered just how injured she really was since the damage wasn't visible. Naruto smiled slightly as he heard her repeat his Nindo and was happy that he was able to influence someone to be stronger. He'd never realized she looked up to him, never mind watching him.

Even though she could barely stand and her chin was stained with blood, she kept going, pushing her body to its limits. She got knocked back and again she pressed forward. Then Neji hit her one last time and she fell. It was shocking for everyone except Naruto when she stood once more. By now he knew she wasn't going to win but she took on his Nindo and she would never give up just like Naruto. It didn't matter if she didn't win; he saw a new person down there, one who could take pride in themselves.

Neji kept talking shit and when he was declared the winner he didn't stop, intent on doing permanent damage to Hinata. Thankfully three of the Sensei's and the proctor stepped in to stop him. Naruto sneered in disgust when Neji claimed them saving Hinata's life was special treatment. Neji needed a rude wake up and fast.

Naruto, Lee and Sakura jumped down to see how Hinata was doing. She lost consciousness before he could say anything to her. Neji just had to keep being an asshole even after he'd won and Naruto glared up at him.

"In the end a loser is a loser. They cannot change." Neji said a self-satisfied smirk plaster on his face.

"Bullshit." Naruto spat the word. "You think you're so damn great. One day someone's going to knock you on your ass and then where will you be? I hope that when that day comes I'm there to see it." He turned away and went back up to stand with his team while Hinata was taken away by the medics. He had no interest in standing around listening to someone like Neji; he got enough of that from Sasuke.

…

**Gaara vs. Rock Lee**

This was bound to be an interesting fight. Lee was pretty good, and from what they had heard Gaara might be better. Gaara had been a little intimidating when Naruto had met him and his team, but after a second look, he could help but to note that he looked somewhat delicate.

Lee made the first move, he was as fast as Naruto remembered, but Gaara didn't even twitch. The sand that shielded Gaara from taking a hit was pretty cool. No matter how fast Lee was, though, he just couldn't get past the sand.

Naruto had no idea what to think when Lee dropped the weights. He just watched, shocked that someone as small as Lee could even walk carrying that much weight. Naruto's mouth dropped at how fast Lee was now. He simply could not express his shock Lee was in one spot and in the blink of an eye he was somewhere completely different. Naruto wondered who was faster, Lee or Haku. Now that would be interesting to find out.

With the added speed Lee was finally able to land a hit on Gaara. Lee scored a scratch on the Sand ninja's cheek and a solid punch after. Naruto watched Gaara closely after seeing Kankuro look decidedly nervous. The insane light in Gaara's eyes was visible and now he looked scary and not as delicate as Naruto had originally thought.

Lee was amazing; his agility and power were unbelievable. In the end, it just wasn't enough. Once Gaara started to use his sand offensively, he was ruthless. He caught Lee's left arm and leg with his sand and crushed them. Gai had to step in and keep Gaara from killing Lee but it was over. Gaara was declared the winner. Everyone waited in silence while Lee was taken away by the medics. There were only two Genin left to fight.

…

**Choji Akamichi vs. Haku Momochi**

Naruto slapped Haku on the back lightly. "I'd say good luck, but you're too good to lose."

Haku huffed in amusement at his friend and made his way down, with Choji not far behind. They faced each other; Haku pulled a couple of Senbon and waited. Choji looked a bit intimidated and it seemed like he wasn't going to do anything. Naruto smirked and got a bright idea.

"Hey Choji," Choji looked above Haku to Naruto. "Guess what Haku said earlier. He said you were looking a little…Fat."

Haku's head whipped around to face Naruto. "I…" He started to say affronted but never got the chance to answer.

" . ." Choji fumed and promptly used a jutsu to blow himself up. He was easily five times his normal size. Haku's eyes widened. That was not what he was expecting. He threw his Senbon, but they were deflected off Choji's immense form. The human boulder was fast and too wide to dodge. Haku made the necessary signs just seconds before Chouji reached him. A giant Ice Dome formed over Haku just in time. He was a bit put out at having to reveal that so early but it was the only option at the moment.

Chouji rolled up one side of the dome and gained momentum as he rolled down the other side. He was going so fast he hit the opposite wall and lodged himself there. Choji had no way to get himself out so he had to release his jutsu. Haku quickly grabbed a few more Senbon and as soon as Choji was his normal size once again he threw them, hitting a nerve in Choji's back and paralyzing him. Choji dropped to the ground awake and aware but unable to move or talk. Haku was declared the winner but he looked a little disappointed.

Haku went to Choji after and pulled the Senbon out before helping him to stand up. Choji was unsteady but otherwise unharmed. He gamely congratulated Haku.

Genma called the winners down to the arena.

Naruto wasted no time. In a heartbeat he was on the arena floor tackling Haku to the ground. "Knew you could do it. Not a good match-up, but you're going to the finals; that's what counts anyway."

Haku couldn't help but smile back and allow the wave of enthusiasm to wash away his reservations. "Yes, of course. Though you should probably get off me now."

Naruto froze and blinked down at the other boy, only just realizing the position they were in and that they had an audience. He sprung to his feet, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. "Sorry, got a little carried away there."

Haku rose gracefully and brushed himself off before grinning at the blonde. "I don't mind."

Around them the onlookers mostly wore expressions with varying degrees of impatience; though Sasuke was glaring at a far wall, Shikamaru was looking between Haku and Naruto with a contemplative expression, and no one could really tell what Shino was thinking.

Under Genma's direction, all the winners lined up and waited for their final match up announcement.

Naruto vs. Neji

Shikamaru vs. Temari

Haku vs. Shino

Sasuke vs. Gaara

Sakura vs. TBA

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry this took so long to get it but it ended up being really long and my beta had to do some work to it. It's pretty much a filler and while it may seem like there hasn't been much change from Canon trust me there has but things won't deviate too much just yet.

Chapter 10

All of the members for Team 7, plus Haku, were gathered together at their usual training area waiting for Kakashi to show up. Naruto, still excited after their recent win, was bouncing excitedly in place; he was seated on the ground, cross legged next to Haku. Every time he shifted his knee hit Haku's thigh and their shoulders bumped together.  
Haku listened to Naruto's recounting of events with an amused smile and ducked his head every time a flailing arm came too close. Sakura, just as excited only concealing it better, chatted along with Naruto, and Sasuke continued to glare at nothing; he hadn't uttered a word since they left the tower.  
Eventually Naruto calmed and ended up leaning heavily on Haku, Sakura lay in the grass at their outstretched feet, staring up at the sky much like Shikamaru would have been, and Sasuke sat leaning against a nearby tree and for all appearances looked to be asleep.  
This was the scene Kakashi saw when he appeared in the clearing. None of the four realized he was there yet so he took a moment to appreciate the serenity. He was amazed at how much one little mistake could change things and he was happy for it. He understood now why Minato had loved having his own team. He had a lot of regrets but this, his team, would never be one of them.  
"Well my cute little students, I have found you guys someone to help you train for the next month." He walked a little closer to them and crouched down. "Sakura, tomorrow at 6am you are to meet Anko at the entrance to Training Ground 44. She will be working with you for the next month."  
Sakura made a face at having to train under the eccentric woman but Anko was an undeniably good kunoichi, so she didn't complain.  
"Sasuke, you will be with me. We need to work on your Sharingan and I am the only person in the village able to do that. Now mind you I am not as good as someone from your clan but I'll do as much as I can to help."  
Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. It wasn't like he had any choice; the only other person who could teach him what he needs know was not an option.  
"Naruto, do you remember what I told you about Jiraiya?"  
Naruto nodded, excitement shining through bright blue eyes.  
"Well, I heard he is in town. I haven't gotten the chance to speak with him but I'm sure you could talk him into training you. He's also the only one who can fix your seal."  
"Fix your seal? What's wrong with it Naruto?" Haku interjected worriedly.  
Naruto scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. He had forgotten to tell Haku what had happened in the Forest of Death. "I'll tell you the whole story later but let's just say we ran into Orochimaru and he did something to my seal." Naruto gathered chakra and raised his shirt just enough to show the top part of his seal, which was now visible, and the five angry red marks above it looking entirely out of place among the black swirl.  
No one but he had seen the marks before and Sakura hissed in sympathy.  
Haku turned and raised his hand, he had to spread his fingers wide for the tips to match each mark. "Does it hurt?" He asked, his voice tinged with concern.  
Naruto grabbed his wrist gently, pulled it away from his stomach, and dropped his shirt.  
Sasuke caught Naruto's eye, looking absolutely murderous, and Naruto flushed under the memory of what had happened the last time another boy had touched the overly sensitive marks of his seal.  
"No, it's uncomfortable. It's making it very hard to gather chakra; every time I try I have to concentrate harder than I usually would and the more I gather the more I feel like my skin is tightening around my bones. I'll live but the sooner it's fixed the better I'll feel."  
"Right and you will be able to find Jiraiya at the Onsen most of the time." Kakashi told them cheerfully. "Haku, do you have someone to train with?"  
"I would if Zabuza hadn't been out on a mission already, but hopefully he won't be gone for more than a few days."  
"Well if he ends up taking longer than expected go to the Hokage. He'll have a way to get a hold of me. I know a few people who have similar skills and would be willing to help."  
Haku smiled in thanks.  
"Time to go Sasuke; we start now. Just remember if you guys need me for anything, go to the Hokage. Good luck and we'll see you in a month." Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and they both disappeared in a burst of smoke.  
"I'm going home," Sakura grumbled. "I can't believe I have to train with that crazy woman."  
"Just look at it this way Sakura, from what I've heard, she's one of the best kunoichi in the village besides Kuranai; she's just a little…eccentric." Naruto told her, smiling. He was sincerely thankful Sakura had been putting in more effort toward her training.  
She gave Naruto a look before nodding and saying her goodbyes.  
Naruto and Haku stood to leave as Sakura disappeared from the clearing. Naruto threw an arm around the older boy enthusiastically. "You are coming with me tomorrow. I want you to meet my Godfather. And who knows, you may be able to learn something from him."  
Haku glanced to the side, eyeing Naruto as they walked. "Are you sure? I don't want to take time away from your training."  
Naruto nodded decisively, "Yup, no point in you training by yourself, even if it is only for a week."  
"I suppose," Haku replied hesitating. "But if you need me to leave just say so."  
Naruto just grinned and nodded. There was no point in arguing that he wouldn't want Haku to leave; Haku had become one of Naruto's closest friends after all.  
…  
The next morning found Sasuke mentally cursing his Sensei. Yes, he knew the speed and endurance training was necessary; that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He kept flashing back to the fight between Lee and Gaara. As much as he hated to even admit it to himself, Lee was incredibly fast and strong. Gaara was something else. He had no idea what to think of the ruthless ninja, but he knew he could not lose. He would not lose.  
"Pick up the pace Sasuke. You're never going to get faster like that." Kakashi called out lazily.  
…  
Sakura stood outside the entrance to the Forest of Death, again, waiting for Anko to show up. The place was still creepy as hell and Sakura nervously looked around: still nothing. She hoped Anko wasn't like Kakashi and was going to be late for every session. She had no idea who she was going to fight, but the way it was set up whoever it was would be the winner of a previous fight. That meant a strong opponent considering everyone who had passed on to the next round.  
"Hello there girly."  
Anko popped up in front Sakura from out of nowhere causing her to jump and clutch at her erratically beating heart.  
"Follow me and keep up."  
Anko took off over the gate, giving Sakura no time to think or catch her breath.  
…  
At the training grounds for Team 8, Kuranai sat on a nearby rock while watching Shino run through warm up katas. The katas were familiar; his body remembered each precise movement so well he didn't have to consciously think about what he was doing. It was a form of meditation and allowed him to calm and focus his mind, usually.  
Shino was supposed to be focusing on strength and hand to hand combat training this month. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, his mind just wouldn't clear like it normally would, so eventually he let his mind wander.  
The most prominent thing on Shino's mind was Naruto. The blonde had never spoken a word to him before yesterday and he didn't understand why he would go out of his way to do so now. Why would he smile at Shino so sincerely? Why look at him with something akin to pride? It was a vexing puzzle and no two pieces fit together like they should.  
There was a reason Shino always held back, and it wasn't because he was shy. Most people found him to be creepy or, if they knew about his clan techniques, were disgusted by him. The only people to look at him warmly so far were his team and his clan.  
There was no more time to ponder on the puzzle that was Naruto; he'd finished warming up.  
Kuranai stood to face him. "Let's begin Shino." She told him.  
He nodded, watching her intently from behind dark lenses as she approached.  
…  
Neji stood before his training partner, panting from exertion, angry and determined. He would not let that loser's words get to him. It was Neji's destiny to be great, to overcome the limitations put on him. Naruto and Hinata were beneath him and of no consequence. They would both see that when Neji knocks Naruto off the pedestal he had put himself on.  
He took a deep calming breath. Now was not the time; now he needed to focus. He would master the technique only the main branch of his clan had ever been taught, and he would do it without any help. It was his destiny after all.  
…  
The hot springs was where Naruto and Haku found Jiraiya. His godfather was currently crouched down, peeking through the slats into the woman's side of the hot springs, and giggling quietly. Naruto held a finger to his lips and tilted his head slightly, finally catching sight of what the man was holding. He frowned thoughtfully and tried to figure out what the pervert could be writing as he spied on naked women.  
Instead of guessing, he decided to just ask. "Excuse me Mr. Pervert, but what are you doing?" Naruto raised his voice just loud enough the man could hear him.  
Jirayia spun to face the two young boys. The first young ninja had such delicate features and long hair, he would have been mistaken for a girl, but coupled with the way he was dressed it just made him androgynous unless you knew what to look for. The second boy caused Jiraiya's breath to hitch, and he had to fight down a wave of nostalgia. There was no mistaking who the blonde boy was. He kept his composure and smirked. "I'm working."  
"Work?" Naruto repeated in disbelief. How is spying on naked women working? He tried to puzzle it out but just couldn't. Naruto looked to his companion who shrugged back and shook his head. Haku had no idea either.  
Jiraiya's smirk broadened at the confused faces. "I am a writer and I'm working on a novel." He reached into the top of his kimono and pulled out a book showing them the cover. Icha Icha Paradise; well that connected a few dots for him.  
"That's not work; that's you being a pervert." Naruto pointed a finger accusingly.  
Jiraiya straightened to his full height and puffed up in outrage. "You little brat, do you have any idea who you are talking to?"  
"I know who you are." Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You're Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, my Father's former Sensei, and my Godfather." Naruto grinned at the surprised expression on Jiraiya's face.  
"How and who else knows?" Jiraiya asked wearily, eyes darting between Naruto and Haku.  
"Don't worry Haku knows everything and has been sworn to secrecy. How I know is a long story and we'll need more privacy for that but first there are two reasons I came looking for you. The first reason is training; I'm hoping you will be willing to train me like you did my Dad. The second reason is this," Naruto pulled up his shirt and started gathering chakra.  
There was no mistaking whose work the Five Part Seal was, Orochimaru, Jiraiya's wayward teammate. It wasn't going to be pleasant for Naruto, the technique needed to undo the seal, but it had to be done. "I can fix it but I need you to take off your shirts and put both arms in the air." Jiraiya put his right hand behind his back and started gathering chakra at the tips of his fingers while Naruto shed both his shirts.  
Jiraiya tipped his head to the side at Haku and the younger moved off to the side to watch raptly. Naruto raised both his arms and waited patiently. Jiraiya moved quickly; he took a giant step forward and jabbed the tips of his chakra covered fingers into the seal, forcing the molded chakra where it was needed.  
Naruto curled over the hand jammed into his stomach, letting out a pained yell in the process. It wasn't the worst pain he'd ever felt but it certainly hurt. It was like having a painful bruise be punched suddenly. When Jiraiya pulled away Naruto curled up on his knees and laid his head on his arms trying to breathe through the pain. He recognized the warm hand on his back as Haku's.  
Naruto sat up once the pain had faded and shot Haku a sincere smile before standing back up.  
"Sorry about that, Naruto, but it was the only way." Jiraiya shrugged and smiled apologetically. "Now have you learned water walking yet?"  
Naruto shook his head.  
"Well I'll teach you how to do it. You should have a much easier time gathering chakra now. After you have that down we'll stop for the day and you can tell me your story."  
Naruto smiled excitedly and stripped off his shoes and pants eager to get started.  
…  
Three hours later, between Jiraiya and Haku's instructions, Naruto was jumping up and down on top of the water in celebration of his success. It wasn't like learning to walk on water was a huge deal, but doing it completely pain free and so fast, was a big accomplishment right at the moment and Naruto was happy with himself.  
The three settled on going to Haku's place. It was something that Naruto did often. Since Haku was constantly trying to break him of his ramen obsession the older teen took it upon himself to cook for the two of them often, and it's not like Naruto hated the thought of spending time with Haku.  
The three ninja sat around the table and ate while Naruto animatedly told Jiraiya everything that had happened in between mouthfuls, speaking quietly while talking about his parents and growling in anger retelling his encounter with Orochimaru. Jiraiya listened patiently, intent on the details of Minato and Kushina's sacrifice. Naruto described how he got to hear his parent's last words. He knew he had been loved and wanted and it shone through every word and gesture.  
At the conclusion of Naruto's tale, Jiraiya sat back and took a moment to think about how to proceed.  
"Okay Brat, I'm going to take over your training, and since you'll be fighting against a Hyuuga I may have a way for you to gain an edge over him. Meet me tomorrow morning at the hot springs and we'll get started."  
"Yosh!" Naruto exclaimed jumping up in his seat and throwing a fist in the air. "This is going to be awesome. What are you going to be teaching me?"  
"You'll find out soon enough and you're more than welcome to bring your little friend." Jiraiya told Naruto standing and ruffling his hair.  
"Now I have some things that need to be taken care of I'll see you tomorrow." The older man disappeared from the room in a puff of smoke leaving the two younger ninja on their own.  
…  
The next morning, Haku and Naruto met Jiraiya at the hot springs, but they didn't stay there. The older ninja led them a ways away, along the river that fed the spring until they stopped off at a cliff. Haku took a seat on a nearby boulder while Jiraiya crouched down to speak to Naruto face to face.  
"From what you said yesterday, you know about your tenant as well as some of the effect that come with being a container. The physical transformations that have occurred are a result of you using It's chakra; only you have been using that chakra subconsciously. What I am going to teach you now is how to access and use it of your own free will."  
"You have a huge amount of chakra but It has more than you and that chakra is immensely powerful. On top of teaching you to feel and access that chakra I'm going to teach you the Summoning no Jutsu." He finalized.  
Naruto grinned widely, excited to learn a new, pretty powerful jutsu and learn how to control the Kyuubi's chakra. Being able to summon was pretty awesome. "So what do I do first?"  
"First you need to use all of your chakra, and to do that you're going to water walk until you can't anymore." Jiraiya pointed a thumb behind him at the river.  
Naruto eyed him skeptically but bent over and pulled off his shoes and rolled his pants up. He grumbled the whole time he stood on the water and constantly pumped chakra to his feet to stay on top of it. It was a long and boring process which Jiraiya spent researching (spying) and Haku occasionally conversing with him. Eventually Naruto could feel exhaustion slipping in, until he could no longer stand on top of the water and sank to his calves. He slowly dragged himself from the water and collapsed on the rocky shore, panting slightly.  
Jiraiya looked back when he heard the thump of Naruto's body and walked over to look down at his prone form. Naruto gazed up at his Sensei.  
"Well you finally used up most of your chakra now it's time to get started."  
Naruto pushed himself up but stayed sitting; he had no energy to stand and feared getting dizzy if he tried.  
"I'll show you how it's done first." Jiraiya told him, bringing a thumb to his mouth. He bit into his thumb with sharp canines and made a line across the palm of his other hand with free flowing blood. He then slammed his marked palm on the ground and a large toad appeared among a cloud of smoke.  
The toad was wearing a necklace and holding something in its mouth, which Naruto identified as a scroll as big as the forbidden one he had stolen. The toad unfurled its tongue and let Naruto take the scroll.  
Naruto looked at the scroll curiously. "What's this?" He opened the scroll a bit and spread it out on the ground.  
"That is the contract for the toads. It has been passed down through many generations." Jiraiya crouched down and pointed to a column with a name: Minato Namikaze.  
Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, his eyes wide and glassy. "My dad…" he whispered reverently.  
Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, he was my student and I had him sign the contract, just as you are. You write your name in blood and under that you press your fingerprints in blood."  
Naruto smiled and gazed back at his father's name. He pressed his fingers against the smudged ones on the paper for a moment before opening the scroll a little more to expose a blank column. He brought his own thumb to his mouth and but down. His own teeth were a little sharper than a normal person's so it was easier to cut himself.  
"Now you are going to do it just as I did and your current state should make releasing your other chakra easier." Jiraiya said from atop the toad he summoned.  
After many attempts to summon a toad, only to summon a tadpole instead, they called it a day.  
…  
Three weeks later Shino finally had a day off of training and met up with Kiba to go visit Hinata and see how she was doing. Along the way they spotted Naruto walking toward the outskirts of the village.  
Kiba had stopped walking and Shino stopped beside him curious at what his teammate was thinking.  
"Do you think he's going to train?"  
Shino glanced at Kiba, "Possibly."  
"Let's follow him. I wanna see what he's doing." Kiba said not taking his eyes from Naruto's retreating form.  
Shino was about to protest when Kiba moved to follow Naruto. In the end he stayed silent because he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to know as well.  
They followed the blonde slowly, making sure to never lose sight of him. They could always go check up on Hinata later in the day. They followed Naruto to a river that overlooked a very big and deep cliff. Then they launched themselves into a nearby tree and sat watching as Naruto met with an older white haired ninja neither of them had ever seen before; though Naruto seemed to know him well.  
Jiraiya could sense the two Genin and spied them sitting high up in one of the trees. He presumed they were fellow classmates of Naruto's and since neither had the distinguishing features of a Hyuuga he determined that they could stay and put them out of his mind. It wasn't like they'd hurt anything just watching. He would just have to watch what he said.  
It was a surprise to both Kiba and Shino to find out Naruto was being taught how to summon. It was less of a shock that he was bad at it. They watched numerous failed attempts before Naruto collapsed.  
Shino jerked slightly his body wanting to move and catch Naruto instead of watching him fall on his face. They watched the older ninja pick up Naruto and got ready to follow since it looked like the two were about to leave. Instead of them leaving though, the older man moved closer to the cliff and dropped Naruto.  
Naruto jolted upright, looking around curiously. Shino couldn't hear what was being said, he could only see that Naruto looked worn out and the man looked tense. Naruto pulled himself up with a bit of effort and stood looking at the older man, his back to the ledge. The older ninja lifted his hand and placed a finger on Naruto's forehead and pushed.  
Shino heard the distressed sound Kiba made but his mind was stuck on the fact that Naruto had just been pushed off of a cliff by his Sensei. It took everything he had to keep himself in place, and when Kiba moved to jump from the tree he placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. Shino raised his arm and sent out a single insect to 'see' what was going on.  
…  
Naruto was falling, fast, and he was panicking. He tried to gather enough chakra to his hands and feet to grab ahold of the wall, but he was falling too fast and he had almost no chakra. He was going to die.  
He closed his eyes resigned to his fate. But when he stopped feeling the wind on his face, he opened his eyes again to find himself in a place he'd never seen before. It was odd: a long hallway, water on the floor, many doors along both walls, and pipes running the length of the ceiling. He didn't recognize the place but it felt familiar. So he stood and dragged himself to the opening at the end of the hall.  
The next room was cavernous, and on the opposite wall were two enormous cage-like doors. A shadow of something moved in the darkness beyond the cage, and Naruto slowly moved closer trying to see what it was.  
A single very large eye appeared above him and a rough growling voice spoke, startling Naruto. "Come closer kid."  
Malevolence oozed from between the bars. He was in awe at how his parents faced this demon so fearlessly. That single red, cat-like eye looked down on him and Naruto hesitated. But he was not a coward, and if his parents could face it, so could he. Naruto took a step closer, and jumped back when huge claws swiped at him, only being held back by the doors. That was a bad idea, he determined, and kept a respectable distance this time.  
"If it weren't for this damn seal, I'd eat you." The voice growled.  
Naruto added things up pretty quickly after that. A seal, plus claws, could only mean one thing: the Kyuubi. Well this works.  
"Hey, you damn Fox, lend me your chakra."  
The Kyuubi let out a rough guttural laugh that caused the hair on Naruto's arms to stand on end. "You got guts kid. I suppose if you die I die too."  
The Kyuubi said no more, but a blackness started seeping into the water from beyond the bars, trapping the Fox. It slowly drifted toward Naruto, and as it got closer he became surrounded by it.  
"Here is a gift for making it this far." The gruff voice held amusement.  
And suddenly, Naruto was covered in the black water. When he snapped his eyes open next, he was once again falling. He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra flowing through him. It was like a jolt to his system, and he tried the summoning jutsu once more.  
Naruto poured his all into the jutsu. He would not fail this time, because failure meant death, and he was not going to die before he became Hokage. Dying would mean disappointing his teacher, letting down his teammates, and his parents sacrifice would be in vain. He poured his whole being into the jutsu and discharged so much chakra it cast a visible glow over his features.  
Jiraiya look down upon his student, slightly surprised and immensely proud. His ability to use the Kyuubi's chakra was still a bit unstable, but now that Naruto knew what to 'feel' for it should be easier for him to consciously use it. Now he had a problem though; Gama-Bunta was uncontrollable.  
Naruto heaved a sigh of relief from atop the gigantic toad he now sat on. It was like being an ant on top of a mountain. He didn't even try to hold back the loud proclamation that he actually did it. He threw both hands in the air and whooped for joy; at least until the very large and very intimidating toad yelled at him.  
"You lil Punk shut up! Whatcha do'in on my head?"  
Naruto let out a startled yelp, and fell back on his butt.  
"I finally get out for some fresh air and…What the hell is this?"  
"I summoned you. I thought you could help." Naruto said, hesitant.  
"You?" Disbelief was clear in the toad's voice.  
"Yes!"  
The toad let out a rough, wheezing laugh. "You shouldn't lie, Punk. There's no way in hell a lil runt like you could summon me!" He kept laughing and Naruto got more and more pissed off with every passing second.  
His temper got the better of him, and he slid down to stand on the toad's snout and look it in the eye. "You piece of shit! How dare you assume I couldn't summon you?" Its laugh cut off abruptly, but Naruto just kept ranting. "I am the one who summoned you; so I am your master. Got that dumbass?"  
Looking into narrow angry eyes, Naruto figured he probably should have tried harder to keep his temper. He was standing on top of a sentient, powerful creature that could kill him very easily.  
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to? You little shit, I am the Boss Toad Gama-Bunta, and no one is my master. Do you want me to rip off your head?"  
"Woah, I'm sorry Boss." Naruto hurried to apologize.  
"Calm down then. I'll make you my underling."  
Now outwardly calm and inwardly jumping for joy, he answered with a cheerful 'Yes Boss'.  
He was then surrounded by a slimy studded tongue, and the Gama-Bunta was flying out of the ravine and into the air. He landed, with a resounding crash, in front of the still unfurled summoning scroll.  
Gama-Bunta kept his thoughts to himself, but with undeniable proof that what Naruto said was true, he couldn't help but be supremely impressed that this small child had summoned him. Laying an unconscious Naruto on his head, Gama-Bunta was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The last person to ride on his head was the Fourth, and now here was his son doing the same thing. He almost shared power with Naruto but figured this was a good lesson for the child. He needed to learn his limits and this was the best way to do it. Instead, with one great leap, he landed in front of the hospital and laid the boy gently on the ground at the main entrance. He then disappeared back to his own realm, wishing Naruto luck as he went.  
…  
Shino and Kiba stared at the toad in wide eyed wonder. It was the biggest animal either of them had seen. And, to think, Naruto had summoned that. The insect reported back to Shino; it didn't speak, exactly; it gave feedback in the form of images and feelings, instead.  
An immense chakra outpouring with a malevolent feel to it, and not only that but it wasn't even a normal color. It raised so many questions.  
Shino immediately forgot about his many questions and his confusion when the next image was relayed. Naruto was lying silent and still on top of the toad.  
Shino had no chance to check on the blonde, and could only watch helplessly as the amphibian sailed above their heads in the direction of the village.  
…  
Naruto groaned in pain as he tried to shift around, his body stiff and sore. The last thing he remembered was summoning the Boss toad and getting out of the ravine; everything after that was a blank. He cracked open an eye and saw a familiar white tile ceiling with florescent lights.  
He opened both eyes and looked to the side where he saw a smiling Shikamaru sitting with an open book in his hands.  
"Hey, you're finally awake." Shikamaru said quietly.  
"Where am I?" Naruto managed to croak through his dry mouth.  
Shikamaru handed him a small glass of water. "Hospital. Haku said you've been asleep for three days." he answered, as Naruto greedily sucked down water.  
"Do you know why I'm here and where that pervert went? Why are you here, by the way?" Naruto asked curiously. It was unusual that Shikamaru would go out of his way to just see him.  
Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer but was beaten to the punch.  
"You are here because you had exhausted your chakra, and I haven't seen Jiraiya since I last watched you train with him." Haku answered, as he came in the room. He smiled at Naruto and stood next to Shikamaru. "Good to see you awake Naruto. I was starting to get worried, but everyone said it was normal."  
"I'm fine, just thirsty and hungry." He grinned up at his friend.  
"Well I might be able to help with that. I was here to visit Choji when I ran into Haku and found out you were here."  
"Choji's here? Is he okay?" Naruto interrupted worried.  
Shikamaru just smiled wider. "He just ate too much after his match and injured his stomach." Shikamaru lifted a basket from the floor and set it on the bed next to Naruto. "I brought this for Choji, but the doctor said he couldn't have it; so when I ran into Haku and found out you were here, I figured you'd appreciate something to eat if you woke up."  
Naruto snickered and shook his head. "Well that's Choji I guess." He picked up and apple and took a bite. "Thanks Shikamaru. That was pretty nice of you."  
Shikamaru closed his book with a snap. "Idiot. I just did it because I didn't want the food to go to waste." he growled, and ducked his head.  
It wasn't like it was said with any bite behind it; so Naruto just smiled and kept munching away on his apple. Haku patted Shikamaru on the shoulder and sat on the edge of the bed at Naruto's feet.  
Haku asked how training went after he left to train with Zabuza, and the two listened to Naruto's enthusiastic recounting of the last three weeks. Not too long after Naruto woke up, a doctor came in to check on him and proclaim he was fine to be discharged. Instead of leaving right away, they decided to go visit Lee.  
…  
Shikamaru was the first one through the door to Lee's room and what he saw chilled him to the bone, but he wasted no time. He took three hurried steps in, enough to clear the door, and quickly did his Shadow Copy Jutsu. Naruto was next through the door and as soon as he saw Gaara's hand hovering over Lee's prone form he was in motion. He punched the Sand Nin, hard, much to Shikamaru's chagrin.  
"Naruto, while I'm using this jutsu I move the same as him." Shikamaru pointed out.  
"Sorry Shikamaru." Naruto apologized; he'd forgotten exactly what this jutsu did.  
"What are you up to?" Naruto growled out.  
Gaara just glared and didn't answer.  
"Hey! What were you trying to do to Lee?" Naruto yelled, when no answer was forthcoming.  
"I was trying to kill him." Gaara said it so simply, like it was just a fact of life, killing someone in cold blood. The three Leaf Shinobi gaped at him in shock.  
"What?" Naruto gasped.  
"Why? You won the fight. Do you have some personal grudge against him?" Shikamaru asked, trying to stay calm. He had seen what Gaara could do in the Forest of Death and during the preliminaries, and he didn't like their odds in this situation.  
"I do not. I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him." Gaara's voice was gruff and factual. He wasn't glaring or sneering, just making a statement.  
"Are you serious you bastard?" Naruto shouted.  
"You must have had a messed up childhood. How self-centered can you be?" Shikamaru stated, thinking furiously. He didn't scare easily or often, but right then he was having a hard time staying calm enough to think of a way to get out of that room alive.  
"If you get in my way, I'll kill you too."  
"Go ahead and try!"  
"Naruto, stop." Shikamaru tried to get Naruto to back off a bit and not provoke Gaara any further. He knew Naruto was pretty strong and so was Haku, but even so, Gaara was a monster. He had no idea if the three of them could take the sand ninja out so he was left with one option: bluff him.  
"We know from your fight with Lee that you're strong. But we're not too bad either and we didn't show our 'special moves' in the prelims." He put a cocky smirk on his face and hoped it worked. "Plus it's 3 on 1; you're at the disadvantage. If you listen to what we say, then we'll let you leave quietly."  
"I'll say it again. Get in my way and I'll kill you."  
Shikamaru bit off the curse that wanted to force its way from between his clenched teeth.  
"I won't be taken down by someone like you!"  
"Naruto you have to stop." Shikamaru placed a restraining hand on Naruto's chest to keep him from getting closer to Gaara. "His strength is like a monster. Don't you understand?" Shikamaru gritted out.  
"I have a real monster in me. I won't lose to someone like him."  
Shikamaru lost focus for a moment and gazed at Naruto curiously.  
Haku took a moment and placed another hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, think about what you just said." Haku whispered to him.  
Naruto's eyes widened slightly and he shut his mouth so fast his teeth made an audible click.  
Shikamaru was now insanely curious, but there would be time to ask questions when they weren't in life threatening danger.  
"A monster huh? It's the same for me you know. It's as you said; I had a messed up childhood."  
Naruto wanted to ask so many questions but he couldn't. He had no idea what Shikamaru would say or do if he found out what Naruto meant when he said he had a monster inside him. He wanted to know if Gaara was like him, though. No one ever said if there were others out there that might have a demon in them as well.  
They listened to him talk, low and calmly, about the death of his mother and his possession of a creature. Naruto listened in shock and Shikamaru started gathering puzzle pieces.  
"A possession jutsu that allows one to be possessed before birth…To go that far…its crazy." It was too. What kind of parent does something like that? "That's something a parent does? What a strange expression of love."  
"Love?" Gaara questioned. "Don't think you can judge me. Family…You want to know what kind of connection that is to me. They are simply pieces of meat connected to me with murderous intent and hatred. By sacrificing my mother's life, I was created as the village's greatest weapon. As the Kazekage's son I was taught the shinobi secrets. I was spoiled and allowed to do as I pleased. I thought that was love." Gaara closed his eyes and they waited breathlessly for the rest of the story.  
"For the last 6 years, since I was 6 years old, my own father has tried countless times to assassinate me." His eyes took on an insane gleam.  
"But you just said your father spoiled you. What did you mean?" Shikamaru asked, appalled and confused.  
"I was the village's trump card, but I was also too dangerous. By the time I was 6 it was determined that I was too great a threat. As the village's dangerous tool I was only being used with care. To them, I am simply an object from the past that they wish would disappear. If that's the case, why do I exist? Why am I alive? When I thought about this, I could find no answer. As you live you need a reason; otherwise it's the same as being dead."  
Naruto's eyes blurred. He looked over his shoulder and tried to relay his thoughts to Haku. He would understand. He had to, because Haku was as much like Gaara as Naruto himself was. Gaara continued speak though.  
"I finally figured it out; I exist to kill every human besides myself. I finally found relief from the fear of death, from never knowing when someone would try to kill me. By continually killing the assassins, I understood the reason to continue living. Fighting only for yourself, living while only loving yourself. If you think everyone else simply exists to allow you to experience that feeling, there is nothing better. As long as there are people in this world for me to kill, I can continue to feel that joy."  
"You're wrong." Haku pitched his voice low and soothing. He squeezed Naruto's shoulder in a comforting gesture and placed his other hand on Shikamaru's back, trying to get him to stay quiet.  
"And what would you know?" Gaara snapped out.  
"I was born in the Land of Water. I grew up there with my parents. I have a Kekkei Genkai, Ice Release. When I discovered it, I was so excited I went and showed my mother. She was not so happy and forbade me from using it or telling anyone what I could do. My father heard the conversation and gathered a mob of villagers. I saw him kill my mother because she could do Ice Release as well and then he attempted to kill me. I killed him as well as the villagers. I was an orphan and unwanted. I fought so hard to stay alive before someone found me. I was cold and near starving when Zabuza found me, a man who had the same eyes as me, as us."  
"He asked me to become his weapon, and I agreed. It gave me purpose, a reason to live. I never wanted to kill. And I didn't unless I had no other choice. For so long I was a tool, a weapon to be used, and as long as I was being used, I was happy. and I had a reason to live. But not too long ago, I met someone else, someone who taught me that, while we are still ninja, we are not tools; we are people who hone their bodies as tools and we use ourselves. Our purpose in life is to use our bodies and whatever other tools at our disposal to protect. We protect our village, our family, and those that are precious to us."  
"I had nothing before I faced Naruto as an opponent. He was my enemy, and in the end he saved my life. I am here with a new purpose, with a home, and a family of my choice that accepts me as I am. So you are wrong. But we will be your friends if you'd like, and we can show you what love really is." Haku implored. He didn't want to see anyone treated like Gaara had been. It was inhuman, and he would change that if he had any say in the matter. He removed his hand from Shikamaru's back and held it out to the Sand Nin.  
Gaara was at war with himself. The heel of one hand pressed against the kanji on his forehead, while the other clutched at the cloth of his shirt over his heart. One half urged him to kill these three standing there; it told him that they were lying and nothing good would come from getting close to them. The other half wanted to reach out and take the steady reaching hand, wanted to know what it was like to have friends and a family that cared.  
In the end, so many years of giving in to the bloodlust took its toll and overrode all rational thought. "No. Now let me feel it…" The sand that hand been lying dormant all over the hospital room, began to rise. But before any move could be made on either side, a familiar voice spoke up, startling all four Genin.  
"That's enough! The finals start tomorrow. So don't get ahead of yourselves unless you want to stay here, starting now?"  
They all looked toward the door where Guy was standing.  
Gaara dropped his hands, instantly portraying a calm demeanor, and walked past the older man. He stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder. "I will kill you. Just wait." he confirmed, before disappearing.  
After reassuring Guy that they were all fine, they finally made it out of the hospital. The walk was quiet, as each was lost in their thoughts. Haku and Naruto split from Shikamaru with a wave and a 'see you tomorrow'.  
Later Shikamaru would not remember making his way home. He allowed his body to move automatically while his mind reeled, replaying the conversations over and over. He couldn't help but feel like there was something he was missing, something about Naruto.  
Why would Haku have some secret of Naruto's that Shikamaru, who had known the blonde years longer didn't? What did Naruto mean by having a monster inside him? Why did he clam up when Haku spoke to him. Naruto wasn't known for being close-lipped.  
Gaara's story was clear enough. The red-head was obviously a jinchuuriki. And Haku's story shone some light on his and Naruto's immediate closeness. Damned if they hadn't almost gotten through to the sand nin. But what did Naruto mean?  
He felt like he was holding the answer to the enigma that was Naruto and simply didn't know what he was looking at.  
Shikamaru's thoughts were still whirling when he crawled into bed and sleep finally claimed him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back finally and I must apologize for taking so long but I lost my original beta due to life and just recently found a new one who is just as awesome and very fast. I hope you all enjoy this newest chapter and since the next is done already and awaiting edits I should have it up in the next day or so.
> 
> Beta: Angelslaugh

**Chapter 11**

 

The night before the finals Naruto stayed at Haku’s. Zabuza was there this time since he was part of security for the arena. They stayed up most of the night talking, neither able to forget what happened in the hospital; both too nervous to sleep. The next morning was rough and both of them fought to keep awake after a long night. Both boys were grateful to Zabuza who had made breakfast for them before he left for work.

They walked to the stadium together and were awestruck at the enormous structure that was filled to maximum capacity. They took their place in line with the other competitors and waited patiently for the matches to start. Naruto and Sakura were starting to worry when there was no sign of Kakashi and Sasuke.

“Thank you everyone for coming to the Chuunin Selection Exam.” The Third Hokage’s voice boomed out over the crowd. “We will now start the main tournament matches between the 9 participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end.” He finished and sat down once more.

Genma turn to them and, holding up a piece of paper outlining the first of the matches, told them how things would proceed and the rules. “Now the first fight, Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga, you two stay; the rest of you go to the waiting area.” Haku, Shikamaru, Sakura and surprisingly Shino all wished Naruto ‘good luck’ as they left the area.

…

They faced each other; Naruto scowling at the arrogant Hyuuga and Neji outwardly indifferent. “You look like you have something to say,” Neji drawled out.    

“The day has come; the only difference is I will not be watching, I will be the one to knock you on your ass.” Complete determination and confidence colored his voice.

“What makes this worthwhile is that I will be here to see you fail like the undeniable loser you are and I will be the one to wake you up to reality.”

Naruto scoffed at the over confident tone. “Enough talking, it’s time to fight.”

There was only a moment's pause where Naruto thought back on Hinata and Neji’s fight. He pushed himself back, farther away from his opponent and created four clones.

_Long range for now; test his speed and see what else he’s capable of,_ Naruto thought to himself. He sent them all in, each holding a kunai. Naruto had each clone stay at a speed he was known for and only stepped it up slightly each time he was dodged. In a matter of moments all four close had been dispatched and he hadn’t even gotten to full speed.

Every word out of Neji’s mouth made Naruto want to tear his hair out. He just kept breathing, though. He wouldn’t let someone like Neji get into his head, not when every word out of his mouth was bullshit. Naruto did not believe in fate or destiny; he would live his own life, walk his own path and no one would dictate that for him. He raised his hands and summoned twenty more clones. Another step up in speed and Neji was still keeping up with him, still taking down his clones like they barely phased him. He took out all but one of Naruto’s clones before going for the one he’d left in the back purposely and let a small smile grace his face for a second. He had given that clone just a tiny bit more chakra than the others and, when triumph turned to shock, Naruto grinned internally.

The real Naruto and another clone flew at Neji from the back and when he turned to look over his shoulder Naruto allowed that grin to grace his face. Unfortunately it was short lived. He came so close to landing a hit on Neji only for him to use a move Naruto had no knowledge of, and was knocked back by it. Naruto forced himself up grimacing in pain as he did. As pissed as he was at Neji, Naruto couldn’t help but be in awe at how powerful he was and it was a challenge he couldn’t back down from even if he had wanted to.

Naruto finally got to both feet as Neji took an unrecognizable fighting stance. Naruto wasn’t sure if it looked awkward or suited him but he had no chance to dwell on the thought. Neji moved like lightening. If it weren’t for Haku’s training Naruto would never had even seen him move, but the pain coursing through his body slowed him down too much and he was unable to dodge Neji.

Each jab of his fingers felt like a knife was being driven into his flesh. Naruto couldn’t hold back the cries of pain. Each hit knocked him back a little; 64 hits and each felt like a single stab wound. When it was all over Naruto found himself on his knees, gasping for breath and his arms wrapped around the middle of his body.

Neji was kind enough to inform him of the fact that Naruto could no longer use chakra since he’d hit all 64 points. Naruto took a moment to ‘feel’ around and realized that this was how it felt when Jiraiya pushed him off that cliff. It was time, He had only managed to tap into the Kyuubi’s chakra once but he remembered how to do it and what it felt like.

Naruto could hear Neji’s mocking voice but not the words. He slowly, painfully, pushed himself to his feet once again and kept his head down. “If you are this strong, if your eyes can see everything as you claim; why can’t you see how hard both Hinata and I try? Who are you to tell us that we are losers; you are not a god and you are not better than us so what makes you think you are? I keep hearing you run your mouth about the main family and branch family but I don’t get what your family has to do with our status.” He stood, wobbling on shaky legs.

Naruto listened to Neji as patiently as he could but the moment Cursed Seal was mentioned his full attention was on his opponent. Another person he knew with a seal forced on them and Neji had no idea that Naruto knew just how it felt. However just because Naruto sympathized with Neji, didn’t mean he was going to allow him to get away with the way he treated people he viewed as lesser than himself.

Neji removed his Hitai Ate to show the Seal as he told his story. Naruto closed his eyes against the tears that threatened. He knew all too well now the loss of family and the curse of a seal. His seal was for a greater purpose though, it was to keep the village safe and he may not like having it or the Kyuubi sealed within him, but he understood why it was necessary. Neji’s seal was nothing like his own and only served a purpose for the main branch of his family and he felt that it was just barbaric. He felt sorry for Hinata and Neji and slightly ashamed that his village allowed something like that to happen. But that was no excuse for Neji to treat people like shit just because of how or when they were born. Naruto understood all too well Neji’s situation and feelings on the matter; his situation being neither better nor worse, it just was.

Neji re-tied his Hitai Ate and gave no indication he was resuming the fight. He took advantage of Naruto’s distraction and hit his chest with the flat of his palm, pushing chakra into that one major chakra point. Naruto had no time to move, one moment Neji was a few feet away and the next he was hitting Naruto. He flew backward, slamming down on the ground and sliding along dirt and gravel.

He came to a sudden stop on his side, gasping for breath and feeling like his heart would explode. Naruto wasted no time in trying to catch his breath, just pushed himself to his hands and knees. He wanted to laugh at himself, this fight was not going like he hoped but it wasn’t over yet.

Neji had started walking away thinking that the fight was over. “You shouldn’t turn your back on an enemy.” Neji halted mid step when he heard Naruto’s raspy voice. He looked back at the blonde now shakily trying to get to his feet. “I gave my word I was going to knock you on your ass and that’s what I plan to do.” Naruto stopped to cough, blood flying from his mouth to land on the dust ground beneath him. “I don’t go back on my word. _Ever._ ” He managed to growl out the last word despite the pain and breathlessness.

Neji smirked that cold arrogant not smile of his, clearly thinking Naruto was just talking to hear himself talk. “I’ve heard that before.”

Naruto stood, barely; he fought his body’s fatigue from having all his chakra points closed, fought not to clutch at his chest. He looked up, blood trickling down his chin and his face covered in dirt. “I refuse to lose to a coward who does nothing but whine about his destiny.” Neji opened his mouth to retaliate but Naruto cut him off, not wanting to hear anything else from him. “Have you ever thought, just considered for one moment that you are not the only one who’s been forced into a situation they had no control over? You are blaming someone younger than you, someone who wasn’t even born when you received that seal, for what was done to you. She is essentially in the same situation you are in.”

Naruto paused to cough once again. Neji took the opportunity to yell at Naruto. “You could never understand what it’s like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of.”

Naruto stilled at those words and started chuckling. It was actually quite funny and Naruto didn’t bother to stop himself. He wanted so back to correct his misconception but he couldn’t, not here, not yet. He straightened and closed his eyes splitting his focus between Neji and the Fox. “I _can_ understand, you’re not that special Neji. You know you call me a brat, but you’re the only brat I see here. Instead of doing something to better your situation you’re acting like a child and throwing a temper tantrum. If you hate it that much do something about it.”   

“Enough,” Neji scoffed at Naruto. “You might as well just give up now; all of your chakra points have been closed.”

Naruto ignored the taunt and closed his eyes. It was time; this was why Jiraiya taught him how to access the Kyuubi’s chakra. Granted, he’d only managed to do it once but now that he knew what it felt like he would do it again.

It only took a fraction of a second to find that bright flare of malevolence buried deep down. He pulled just a thread of it, this chakra was twice as powerful as his own and he had no desire to kill Neji, just knock some sense into him. Since he pulled so little the physical changes were diminished as well; all his scrapes and bruises healed, and he felt completely energized.   

Neji watched with wide eyes when he could actually see every chakra point on his opponent heal. It happened so fast and it shouldn’t have been possible. The chakra itself was unlike any he’d ever encountered and when the last chakra point opened it was like opening a floodgate, the very air around Naruto shimmering a murderous red and the silhouette of a beast, a monster appearing from within the chakra.   

Neji wanted to take a step back from the look in Naruto’s eyes when he finally opened them. He only got enough notice to put up his guard before Naruto was in the air and multiple shuriken were sailing his way. Neji caught what he could and spun the rest away with his jutsu. He threw the ones he had caught at Naruto but the blonde was gone before the weapons landed. Neji didn’t want to believe the amount of skill and speed Naruto was displaying, but he had no choice to accept it. In the blink of an eye Naruto was in front of him holding a kunai and flying at Neji. He had enough time to palm one of his own and start the spin of his jutsu before they collided in a mass of chakra and steel, kicking up a massive amount of dust and debris.

When the dust cloud finally cleared Naruto was left standing, he had managed to knock the kunai out of Neji’s hand and push through the weakening barrier of chakra to punch him in the face and knock him flat on his back.

Naruto walk slowly over to the unmoving Hyuuga to look down on him. Neji stared back up at him with disbelief. “What was that?” Neji whispered.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, “What did you see?”

“A monster.”

The blonde nodded in recognition. “That is a secret, but one day if we become friends than I will tell you the story of how you are not the only one burdened with a curse seal.” Naruto vaguely heard the moderator announce him as winner and the roar of cheers from the crowd. He held out his hand for the older boy to take.

Neji eyed the offer slightly surprised but took Naruto’s hand anyway. “Thanks Naruto.” He said as he stood and squeezed the hand in his lightly before releasing it.

Naruto wasn’t sure if he was being thanked for the hand up or being beat down but decided not to question it and just nodded. A medic came out to help and exhausted Neji out of the arena and Naruto followed behind to go up to the observation deck. He was met at the top by Shikamaru, Shino, Sakura and Haku; excitement and happiness radiating from every pore as he received congratulations from them.

Shikamaru was truly happy for Naruto but behind the mask of congratulations he wore, he was a little freaked out by the puzzle he had solved. It was a lot to figure out his close friend was the carrier of a demon that everyone had been told was dead. Shikamaru’s eyes darted to the Sand Ninja before landing back on Naruto; he was just like Naruto but without a conscience and that made him very dangerous. His eyes shifted back to Gaara, there wasn’t anything he could do now but watch him.

The next match should have been Sasuke and Gaara but the three Leaf ninja watched as a postponement for their match was announced. Naruto and Shikamaru were angry and Shino made a comment about Sasuke being wise not to fight the Sand ninja; Haku stood by silently.

The next match was announced; Shino Aburame and Haku Momochi. Naruto wished them both good luck and watched them depart for the arena floor.   

Naruto wrapped both his hands around the metal railing and looked down at his comrades. They faced each other impassive and unreadable; neither moved for a long moment as they tried to see some invisible weakness.

Haku made the first move and it was so fast that no one saw what happened until Shino dodged a series of senbon. Haku threw more and more, each faster than the last and Shino managed to dodge every one of them; the whole time he moved insects seemed to overflow from the neck and sleeves of his oversized coat.

Haku paused and started hand signs for a jutsu. He spoke the jutsu so softly that none of the surrounding spectators could hear what it was. Naruto had never seen the jutsu in action but had heard about it from Sasuke. So when he saw the water shaped needles suspended in midair and point in Shino’s direction he knew immediately what it was. _Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death._

Naruto watched in open mouthed awe and the water needles began their rapid descent in Shino’s direction. The resulting clash kicked up a large cloud of dirt and dust that cleared rapidly to show Shino standing immobile, pierced by so many of the needles.

Naruto tightened his grip in the metal railing and held himself in place. Shino’s form melted into hundreds of insects and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief; _it was just a clone._

Somehow Shino managed to get behind Haku and attacked with Taijutsu. Naruto smiled down at the two battling Ninja. He couldn’t be sure about Shino, but judging by the glint in Haku’s eyes, he was enjoying the challenge that Shino was providing. While Haku had the advantage in hand to hand combat, Shino could do nothing but defend but he was keeping up with his opponent's speed admirably. That was until Haku found an opening and one good kick to Shino’s chest sent him flying back.

Haku took notice of the insects Shino planted on him over the course of their fight so far and made a few hand sign to drench himself and get rid of them. He shook his head to disperse the water and looked up in time to see Shino come at him once again. Haku put up his arm to block the first swing but was surprised when instead of the hit connecting; he was swarmed by more insects. Haku quickly did few hand signs and touched the ground and then did a few more to form an ice shield. Shino directed his bugs to break down the shield.

While Shino was distracted with the shield, ice was slowly creeping along his feet to pin him in place, but by the time Shino realized his mistake Haku was already on him and he had just enough time to redirect his insects to form a shield between him and Haku. It gave Shino enough time to break the ice and then he and Haku were once again engaged in hand to hand combat.

Naruto watched the two with bated breath. It seemed that Shino had managed to slow Haku some because now he was keeping up much better than he had been. But this time Shino was using bugs to block Haku’s attacks and Haku was using ice to punch through those blocks and it was slowing them both down.

Haku formed a senbon out of ice to push through Shino’s bug shield and pushed through, which was expected; what wasn’t expected was when Shino went to step back his foot landed on a sheet of ice and he lost traction. His other foot kicked out and tripped Haku causing him to fall forward and land on top of Shino. Haku caught himself on his knees and one hand; he brought the other hand up quickly put the sharp point of the senbon to Shino’s neck and stared down into his black lenses.

The whole arena held their breath. Shino raised his arm and clearly called out, “I, Shino Aburame, surrender.”

Haku paid no attention to the proctor as he pushed himself up and held a hand down to Shino. Shino grabbed the offered hand but made sure not to pull too hard; it was obvious Haku was exhausted. They made their way back to the stairs. When Haku’s steps faltered Shino pulled the older boy's arm over his shoulder and helped him the rest of the way.

They stopped to catch their breath at the bottom of the stairs. “You are very good, if you hadn’t slipped you probably could have won.” Haku told Shino honestly.

“I must admit that was an interesting way to lose.” Shino commented back and while it wasn’t all that funny, he said it so seriously that it set Haku off into laughter which made Shino laugh. They were still laughing when they reached the top of the stairs.

Naruto waited long enough for them to clear the door way and tackled them both. Shino stumbled and fought to keep himself and Haku standing against Naruto’s attack. When Shino finally regained his balance he realized Naruto had his arms wrapped around both he and Haku; he tucked his head further down into his coat and blushed furiously behind his collar. Casual contact from his clan was one thing but Shino was all too often forgotten by his classmates so this was not something he was at all used to.

Haku, who, for the most part was used to this type of reception from Naruto, just patted the blonde on the back and nodded along with his excited chatter. Soon enough Naruto released them both with an apologetic glance sent Shino’s way when he noticed his stiff posture.

Shikamaru’s match was called next and everyone called well wishes to his back as he sauntered down the stairs throwing a lazy wave over his shoulder as he did so.

…

About halfway down the stairs, Shikamaru spotted Neji making his way up distractedly. “Don’t feel too bad about losing to him.” Shikamaru commented when Neji was close enough to hear.

Neji jerked his head up, startled, to stare at Shikamaru a few steps above him. “Huh?”

Shikamaru smirked at the less than elegant response. “Don’t feel bad about losing to Naruto. I have a feeling only one other in this competition would even come close to being able to beat him.” He explained.

“Do you know…?” Neji left the sentence hanging not exactly sure how to put it.

“I’m pretty sure but it’s not my secret to tell. Just know that you did well even if you didn’t win and you might want to take the time to get to know Naruto, he understands better than you think he does.” Shikamaru didn’t wait for Neji to replay just continued down as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

“Hey, Nara.”

Shikamaru paused and looked up over his shoulder. “Good luck.”

Shikamaru nodded his head, replied with “Troublesome women” and started walking again.

…

His match was against Temari from the Sand Village who was already waiting in the center of the arena with her giant fan. Shikamaru stopped a few steps from the doorway and tipped his head back to look at the sky. He could hear the jeers from the crowd and his opponent’s impatient shouts. He sighed wistfully at the perfect cloud watching sky when she finally became fed up and charged him.

…

Naruto caught sight of Neji from the corner of his eye and turned to give him a small smile before looking back down at Shikamaru who seemed to be wishing he were elsewhere. He knew that Shikamaru was extremely smart but very lazy and he wondered what exactly the Nara could do if he was motivated.

To Naruto, Temari and Shikamaru seemed to be pretty evenly matched; Temari’s wind was powerful and though Shikamaru’s Shadow Jutsu wasn’t offensive, his brilliance more than made up for that.   

Unfortunately in the end it came down to the fact that Shikamaru just didn’t have the chakra reserves to continue the match and gave up knowing that to keep going would be a pointless endeavor.

Shikamaru made it back to the top with the rest of his classmates and was greeted with amused smiles and congratulations on a good match.

…

Naruto’s frustration mounted with every minute. Everyone was anticipating Sasuke’s match, which was next and while yes he was excited to see how his teammate progressed in his training, Naruto was also angry about the fact that he and Kakashi were late and the Hokage was making exceptions for him. He was also a little hurt that Kakashi hadn’t been there to see his match.

When Shikamaru started to make his way from the arena slower than normal, Naruto went to meet him on the stairs to see if he needed any help. Naruto encountered Shikamaru on the landing at the top of the stairs; he looked exhausted but otherwise fine. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could a noise came from the tunnel leading to the other side of the arena.

Their heads whipped to the side and their breath caught in their throat when Gaara emerged from the dimly lit tunnel. The Sand ninja passed them both by seemingly unnoticed, with a crazed look on his face.

When Gaara was out of their sight they finally relaxed. Shikamaru sagged a bit before just letting himself sit down heavily on the stair below him, Naruto sat down next to him a moment later.    

It was another minute before Shikamaru broke the tense silence. “I’ve never seen a guy that could kill with so little hesitation. As good as Sasuke is, I don’t think he has a chance against him.”

Naruto listened to the sounds of the fight and it’s onlookers as he thought back to the day in the hospital. Gaara was just like him but with an extreme bloodlust. He thought on the possibilities and what he could do; he jumped up and informed Shikamaru he was going to talk to Kakashi. Naruto ran with Shikamaru trying to keep up with him.

…

The two found Kakashi watching from the top of the stands with the other Sensei’s and team members who hadn’t won the first round.

Shikamaru slumped to the floor tiredly beside Naruto as Naruto got Kakashi’s attention and gestured for him to go up. When Kakashi was close enough Naruto started murmuring to him quietly but quickly. “You have to find a way to stop this match.”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened in inquiry. “Gaara is like me but not, he lives to kill others.”

A silver brow disappeared up behind the band of his forehead protector at this new information. He seemed to think over what Naruto told him then schooled his face back into passivity. “Don’t worry. We weren’t late for nothing you know.”

Naruto gaped at his Sensei’s placating tone. Naruto opened his mouth to argue his point and Kakashi cut him off before he had even started. “Be quiet and watch.” His tone was soft and cool.      

Naruto watched apprehensively while listening to Gai and Kakashi talk. Sasuke’s new jutsu, the Chidori, was intimidating, awe-inspiring and enviable. Naruto had hope with this new skill Sasuke had a chance to win but something kept him from believing everything would be fine.

And the fear on Sasuke’s face told him that he had been right to worry. The last thing Naruto saw was the sand shell around Gaara splintering and falling to reveal him, before everything went dark.

  

  

 

 

                   

 

          

               

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is done and everyone has been waiting so patiently I decided to post this tonight. I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Beta: Angelslaugh

**Chapter 12**

 

Naruto woke to Sakura poking him in the shoulder. As soon as he rubbed the bleariness from his eyes the sight and sound of fighting came from all around him, he knew something went very wrong. He tried to get some information about what had happened and what had caused him to pass out as she moved to wake Shikamaru, but it seemed as if things were serious enough for her not to have the time to explain right at that moment.

He watched passively as a small ninja dog bit Shikamaru and the boy jerked up in pain while Sakura berated the lazy genin for faking being under a genjutsu. Naruto took a good look around at that and saw most of the spectators slumped over in their seats. That actually explained part of his question and brought up so many more, like where were Sasuke and Gaara because they were no longer in the arena from what he could see. For a moment he wanted to panic but Sasuke was a skilled ninja and he could hold his own until backup arrived.

Seconds later Shino and Neji appeared behind the group with Haku and Zabuza not far behind them. Before anyone could say anything, Gai flew past Naruto and using an enemy ninja’s body, punched a hole in the outer wall. Kakashi paused when there was a lull in the fighting and started giving orders.

“Zabuza, stay and help out here. Haku, stick to Zabuza, you’re still too low on chakra to do much.” He stopped to take down an enemy before quickly continuing. “You 5 follow Pakkun, he’ll lead you to Sasuke. If what you said about Gaara is correct then you’ll need to stop him and get somewhere safe.”

No one argued. When Pakkun jumped from the hole, they all silently followed.

…

By the end of Sakura’s explanation, Shikamaru was grumbling about having to come on this mission and covertly scanning the area, Shino was impassive as usual and Neji had activated his Byakugan.

Pakkun warned the group of 9 enemy shinobi following them and Neji confirmed the fact. With Shikamaru’s quick thinking it was decided he and Neji would stay behind to confront and delay them.

Neji and Shikamaru fell back and the two groups split up, neither looking back but silently wishing each other good luck in their coming battles.

…

Pakkun could sense that they were closer now and just before he could alert his companions, one of the ninja’s ahead of them broke off from the rest. The dog could tell it wasn’t Sasuke so it must have been one of the Sand ninja and whoever it was, was approaching fast. He had enough time to yell “Incoming,” before Kankuro was there in front of them and being blocked by Shino.

“Keep going, I’ll keep him busy.” Shino advised them.

“Right,” Pakkun nodded. “This way.” He leapt to another tree branch with Sakura right behind him. Naruto hesitated for a second; he placed a hand lightly on Shino’s shoulder murmuring a quick and quiet “Be careful,” before he too followed.    

Shino watched Naruto’s retreating back from the corner of his eye and silently promised to finish this quickly.

…

Pakkun, Sakura and Naruto were just in time to see Sasuke and Gaara flying away from each other; Sasuke stilled and lay unmoving so Sakura and Pakkun went to his side while Naruto stood in between them and the monstrous thing that Gaara had become.

Naruto kept an eye on Gaara while he crouched on a branch not far from them and listened as Sakura spoke to Sasuke while he attempted to get up on his own. Naruto tried to keep calm but he recognized the feel of the chakra rolling off the Sand ninja, it wasn’t exactly the same but it was similar enough to when he met the Fox, that he knew beyond all doubt that Gaara was in the process of becoming the thing that was sealed within him.

He had a split second to realize that Gaara was getting ready to attack and screamed for his teammates to move. Unfortunately, Sasuke couldn’t move without help and Sakura wasn’t quite strong enough to get him out of the way fast enough so instead she pulled a Kunai and when Gaara flew past Naruto faster than he expected she met him head on and while she had grown a little bit faster and stronger, she was not a match for someone like Gaara. And so he pinned her to a tree with a claw made of sand.

Naruto wasn’t even sure he was a match for Gaara; yeah he could tap into the Fox's chakra and use it to a point but this guy was becoming the monster, however he couldn’t just leave Sasuke and Sakura to be killed while he stood there scared. “Gaara, leave them be. If you want a fight I’ll give you one but they can’t do that for you.”  He tried to negotiate.

When there wasn’t a response from Gaara he charged him but it did no good when Gaara’s sand attacked from his left and he was forced to dodge it. Gaara pulled away from his two comrades, his arm separating from the claw pinning Sakura. And worse, he started transforming even further.

“The sand won’t release her unless you defeat me and on top of that, it will keep getting tighter over time until it kills her.” Gaara growled.

Naruto wanted to scream and insult like he used to but he pushed the urge back, he had no time for childishness if he wanted to keep Sakura alive. He had just enough warning to dodge the sand shuriken thrown his way and he landed on a nearby branch.

Naruto couldn’t help but wonder if this is what he would have become without all the people he had in his life. He could sympathize, really he could, but this, what Gaara was doing now was wrong and he would prove it to the Sand ninja if it was the last thing he did. He was startled from his thoughts when the sand tightened around Sakura and caused her to moan.

“What’s wrong, afraid of me?” Gaara taunted. “To fight for yourself, or fight for others… Just love yourself! Fight only for yourself; that is what will make you strong. Come on fight me!” He growled and kept on taunting. “Show me the power you used to defeat the Hyuuga and I’ll crush it. I’ll kill the girl if you don’t fight me.”  He screamed finally.

Naruto summoned 5 clones and attacked. Not that it did much good; Gaara’s Mugensajin Daitopa blew them away with minimal effort. He groaned in frustration when he landed face first on a nearby branch and Gaara started taunting him once again.

“I won’t kill you for now. I’ll just play with you. I wonder how long it will take for you to give up your comrades and run off to save your ass. Not that I’ll let you get away.”

Naruto pushed himself up and just barely dodged another attack. Then Gaara himself was flying toward him while he was still in midair, he had no chance to dodge this move and was knocked backwards but Gaara did not let up; he threw a few sand shurikens right after and knocked Naruto back into the trunk of a tree. He fell to his hands and knees and for a moment he despaired but he forced that deep down inside himself; he was better than that and no matter what had changed about him recently giving up was not one of those things so he summoned 5 more clones and attacked even though he had no clue what to do.

Naruto hit Gaara once then summoned more to attack again. The second hit embedded a kunai, wrapped with an exploding tag, at the base of his tail and maybe that hadn’t been a good idea because he took a rough hit for it but the resulting explosion was satisfying enough. Sasuke caught him before he could hit the tree too hard.

“Even after all that you only managed one hit.” Sasuke scoffed. “Shape up will you…I can’t save you this time like I did in wave…you idiot.” He panted out.

“Shut up will you.” Naruto gritted out. Even injured Sasuke was still criticizing him.

“Hey, Naruto. Sakura… You have to save her. I know you can save her. Once you’ve got her… Carry her and run… as far… And as fast… As you can.” He panted and forced the whole thing out.

“You…” Naruto had no idea what to say to the declaration.

“Never again,” He stated harshly. “I already lost everything once before… I don’t ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Naruto said quietly. “For a moment I thought he might have been right but he’s not. His strength isn’t real; it doesn’t come from fighting alone. Real strength is not what you have when fighting for only yourself…” He thought of Haku’s words to him that day in Wave and sent a quick prayer up that he was okay, and then focused back on Gaara.

Naruto stood and built enough chakra then summoned a thousand clones and attacked with everything he had. Gaara tried to block with his sand but the amount of attacks one after another left him with no time to rebuild the shield with sand. Naruto saw Gaara go down but wasn’t going to stop. The only problem with that was Gaara finally finished the transformation process and Naruto looked up at the freed demon in awe and apprehension.

Almost immediately sand started creeping up his body fairly quickly and when he tried to use a jutsu to get away, he realized he had no more of his own chakra. But that was perfect so he closed his eyes as the sand covered the rest of his body and dug deep into that place where the fox resided and gathered as much chakra as he needed for the summon he made the signs and summoned Gamabunta.

…

Neji and Shikamaru had declined going back with Asuma so that they could catch up with Naruto and lend any assistance they could, when Gaara hit the final transformation and the giant burst up from the ground, towering over everything and stopping the two in their tracks.

Neji glanced over to Shikamaru who stopped right next to him. “Do you know what that is?” He asked quietly, as if he spoke too loud the monster would hear them.

“I am not positive, but I think it is something like the Kyuubi and it was inside that Sand ninja, Gaara.” He spoke slowly and just as quietly.

Neji jerked his head back to the scene as he felt the same chakra as before during his match with Naruto and, in a towering puff of smoke, there was a toad squatting just as large as the demon in front of them. With his Byakugan active he could just barely make out Naruto standing atop the toad.

“Naruto is on top of that thing.” He told Shikamaru. “Did you know he could summon?”

Before Shikamaru could answer a deep voice spoke from the other side of Neji. “Kiba and I saw him summon that same toad when we were spying on one of his training sessions.” Neji looked toward the voice and caught sight of Shino leaning against the trunk of the tree, his head turned toward the two monstrous beings just glaring at each other. Neji went back to watching and all three of them waiting for something to happen with baited breath.

They saw the giant toad pull a katana from its back and leapt at the demon. The resulting clash sent shock waves as far as they were standing and they had to cover their faces to keep dust and debris from getting in their eyes. It leapt back right after to avoid being hit by a large tan claw. And then the real battle started and all three were awestruck at the sheer power wielded between the two beings as well as the destruction caused.

After the toad took a hit there was a momentary lull in the battle and in another puff of smoke another demon stood in place of the toad and Neji made a low sound in his throat. In that instance it all came together, the malevolent chakra, the treatment by and of others and the unwanted seal. A pang of guilt hit him and he once again he looked to Shikamaru who didn’t look at all surprised. “Did you know?”

He shook his head but answered, “I had all the pieces but only guessed, I figured he’d tell me in his own time.”

“That actually explains a lot.” Shino injected but said nothing more and neither did Neji or Shikamaru.  

The Fox tackled the other demon and held on to it, transforming back into the toad. They were at a standstill for a minute or two and the three genin hardly dared to breathe. Then it seemed like it was over. The demon dissolved into sand, the toad was released and two distant figures fell to the ground.

The three looked to each other and took off in a burst of speed.

…

Naruto and Gaara landed on opposing tree tops and paused before leaping toward each other hoping to land one last hit. Naruto’s punch landed and with it went the last of his strength and the two fell to the ground. Gaara landed on his back and not too far from him Naruto laid on his stomach, the both of them a bloody mess.

Naruto fought to crawl his way to Gaara who was shouting about his existence. And when Gaara noticed Naruto getting closer he shouted for him to stop. Naruto couldn’t stop though; he wouldn’t. “The pain of being alone… Is not an easy burden to bear… And I can understand that,” He spoke softly pausing every so often as he inched his way to Gaara.

“I was alone like you once… But I have so many people who are important to me now… And I can’t let you hurt them… I will stop you.”      

“Why do you go so far for other people’s sake?” Gaara asked his eyes wide and confused.

“They saved me from the hell of being alone and they accepted me for who I am.” Naruto was so close now, close enough to hear the barely whispered ‘Love’ from Gaara. And yes he did love all those who were important to him, in some way. He stopped in arms reach of Gaara and rested his chin on the dusty ground and so very slowly he reached out to the boy in front of him.

“I can show you what it’s like to not be alone but you have to take the next step.” Naruto kept his hand where it was, palm up, and waited.

Gaara stared at the boy next to him in amazement. He had tried to kill his friends; tried to kill him and yet here he was offering friendship. To his own surprise he could feel the sting of tears behind his eyes but lifted his hand and placed it in Naruto’s.

Naruto smiled serenely at Gaara and the last thing he heard before he fell unconscious was the Foxes growl of ‘You stupid homicidal maniac’ and the answering high pitched maniacal giggle from Gaara’s own demon.

…

Temari and Kankuro jumped from the trees to land next to their little brother, both very surprised at the amount of damage he had sustained and willingly touching someone else as well. They exchanged confused looks and crouched down next to him while he stared sightlessly at the canopy above.

Sasuke approached Naruto slowly with Shikamaru, Neji and Shino not far behind. Sasuke sighed in fond exasperation at his unconscious teammate while Shikamaru went to kneel next to Gaara’s head.

Temari and Kankuro stiffened but made no move to interfere since the Leaf ninja didn’t seem like he was going to do anything. “It’s over now. Are you going to cause any more problems?” He asked not unkindly considering the situation.

Gaara focused on the face above him and just shook his head no.

“Good, then you three can follow us to the hospital and we can figure out what to do from there. But if you try anything we can and will take you out, especially in the condition you all are in.” Shikamaru moved to get up when he heard Gaara’s gravelly voice.

“Is he okay?”

Shikamaru looked to Neji who was checking on Naruto, he answered the question. “A little beat up and out cold from chakra exhaustion but otherwise fine, I believe.”

“Thank you,” Gaara replied gratefully and when Temari and Kankuro moved to help him up he made no complaint.

“Someone is going to have to grab him and Sakura,” Sasuke told the other with a shake of his head. “I just don’t have the strength to carry them.” So with Shino’s help they got Naruto draped over Neji’s back and followed Sasuke to where Sakura and Pakkun were waiting. Shikamaru grabbed her and they all made their way back to the village.      

        

 

                       

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This feels like sort of a filler even though it was needed to progress. I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
> 
> Beta: angelslaugh

**Chapter 13**

 

Naruto spent the longest time in the hospital of all the Genin involved in the battle. Haku, Neji, Shikamaru and Shino spent the last couple hours of the day sitting around the room Naruto was placed in while Sasuke and Kakashi sat with Sakura, until they were all kicked out for the night by some nurses.

They were back the next morning and when Sakura had been released the three members of Team 7 made their way to Naruto’s room where the spoke quietly with the other Genin and when Naruto still hadn’t woken by mid-morning, Sasuke walked Sakura home and Kakashi went and did whatever it was he usually did.

…

It was a few hours later when Naruto finally started to stir. He could hear the quiet murmur of voices around him but couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. He could smell the strong familiar scent of antiseptics and knew he was in the hospital again so he dug around trying to remember what put him there in the first place.

The last thing he remembered was the fight with Gaara that ended with both of them incapacitated on the ground and before he finally blacked out Gaara had placed his own hand in Naruto’s. He smiled slightly and then snapped his eyes open when he remembered that Sakura and Sasuke had been injured and he had no idea what had happened to any of his other friends that stayed behind to protect the village.

When Naruto tried pushing himself up, a hand pressed against his chest pushing him back down then Haku was above him; black hair cascading around them like a curtain and brown eyes warm with concern, “Naruto how do you feel?” Haku asked softly.

Naruto blinked a few times and croaked a little when he tried to answer, cleared his throat and tried again, “Fine, is there anything to drink?”

Haku nodded and backed away waiting for Naruto to sit up before grabbing a cup of water on a table next to his bed. Naruto had forgotten about the other voices in the room until he sat up and saw Neji leaning against the wall next to Shikamaru who was sitting in a chair and Shino who was sitting on the sill of the window. The cup of water was thrust in front of his face and he sucked down half of it before bothering to speak.

“How is everyone and how long have I been out?” He finally asked after wetting his throat. Naruto turned back to Haku who spoke for everyone in the room.

“The four of us were treated for minor injuries and mild chakra exhaustion. Sasuke was here for a couple hours being treated for the same. Sakura had to stay the night because of a concussion and a few cracked ribs, she was released this morning and she, Sasuke and Kakashi came by to see you but you were still sleeping and Sakura was still sore so Sasuke brought her home. All of the Genin and Sensei’s are fine.” Haku stopped suddenly, his lips pinched together grimly.

“Haku, what’s wrong? Is Zabuza okay?” Naruto asked worriedly.

At this point Shikamaru spoke. “Zabuza is fine, but there were a few deaths, one of which was the Hokage.” He told the blonde not unkindly.

Naruto breath got caught in his throat, “How?” He asked; his voice hoarse with grief.

“From what my father told me, Orochimaru was posing as the Kazekage. The speculation is that Orochimaru killed the Kazekage and took his place. Suna being here for the Chuunin Exams was just a front for him to use Suna to start a war to destroy the Hokage and the Leaf village. All the Sand Shinobi have gone back to Suna to investigate.”

Naruto nodded and cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the lump that had gotten stuck there. “Gaara and his brother and sister, how were they?”

“Gaara seemed to be a little beat up, but he and his siblings walked through the gates under their own power.” Shikamaru drawled and Naruto sighed with relief.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru called softly, catching the blonde’s attention with his uncharacteristically hesitant voice. “There is something we wanted to discuss with you.”

Naruto frowned slightly, “Okay.” He drew out the word a little worried.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, but for once in his life he had no idea how to say what he wanted to. His eyes darted between Shino and Neji looking for some sort of hint or help. When he found nothing from either of them he took a deep breath and steeled himself. “I’m just going to be blunt with you because I don’t think there is really an easy way to say this; we would just like you to be honest and just remember that we are your friends no matter what. Okay?”

Naruto nodded apprehensively. Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled under his breath, then dropped his hands to his lap and looked back up at Naruto. As smart as he was, and Shikamaru knew he was smart, he for all his smarts and extensive planning, could not figure out how to start this conversation.

Neji’s gaze darted back and forth between Shikamaru and Naruto who were faced off in a silent stare down; Shikamaru was contemplative while Naruto was fidgeting apprehensively, his face growing weary with each passing silent second. A quick glance at Shino showed that while he was still as impassive as ever behind his dark shades, he had no intention of starting this conversation like Shikamaru. So Neji decided that it would come down to him. He had something that need said anyways and didn’t want to put it off. Naruto deserved the apology that Neji owed him for his crass words during their fight and he intended to deliver it, it also would help to open the door to the discussion that the three ninja were trying to have.

So Neji steeled his nerve and forgot his pride for the moment and stood. He stood rigidly for a fraction of a second before bowing low to the now wide eyed Naruto. “I must offer my sincere apologies, Naruto, for the way I acted during the Chuunin Exams. I should not have assumed that you did not know my burden; I believe it was wrong for me to assume otherwise and should not have acted in the way I did. Forgive me.”  

Naruto stared at the older boy not quite understanding what exactly was being said. “Huh?” He replied dumbly.

Shikamaru sighed gustily again and chose to clarify Neji’s apology. “What Hyuuga here is trying to say is he is sorry for speaking callously about things he has no idea about and I am sure that he will be thinking twice about that in the future.”

Neji straightened once again and nodded sharply in agreement. But Naruto was still slightly confused. He understood that the older boy was apologizing for what he had said during the Third Round and his actions beforehand, however he wasn’t quite sure _why_ he was apologizing.

Shino saw what the problem was and surprisingly picked up where Shikamaru had left off. “Neji, and now Shikamaru and I, understand why you were upset with him and why you said the things you did to him.”

It didn’t take very long to figure out what Shino was talking about. Naruto’s eyes darted around fearfully and Haku’s hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing gently. He had almost forgotten Haku was there he had been so quiet the whole time. He still didn’t say anything only giving Naruto the strength he needed to face his peers. Naruto got the message Haku was trying to impart, he was there and would be there no matter what. “How did you find out? Who told you, because it’s an S Class secret that only the Hokage and I are allowed to speak of.” He whispered fearful of anyone listening in on their conversation.

Though his expression couldn’t be seen, Shino looked at the blonde with indulgence; some things never changed. “We didn’t have to be told anything. Shikamaru is a genius, Neji is very smart and I tend to blend into the background, meaning, I see or hear things without anyone knowing.” Neji and Shikamaru nodded their agreement perfectly content to let Shino do the talking for the moment. “The signs are there for anyone smart enough to figure out, but people tend to ignore the obvious. We want to ask but you don’t have to tell us anything. Just know that we’re here if you need anything, we won’t treat you like them,” he tilted his head towards the window looking out into the village. He paused for a sec and then slowly raised his hand where a few of his kikaichu were sitting on the palm of his hand motionless. “We are not that which resides in us, are we Naruto?”

Naruto took in the sincere words and understanding looks but couldn’t help himself, he threw his head back and laughed loud and bright. “I don’t know Shino you are pretty creepy and a little like a bug.” He replied with a teasing lilt.

Shino hid a small smile behind the collar of his coat. “And you are very mischievous and a little like a fox.”

Naruto scratched lightly at the whisker marks on his cheek knowing exactly how he looked like a fox, he wasn’t all that bothered by the comparison, though - not after their kind words and reassurance. He dropped his hand back to his lap and turned his head to Haku who had retaken his seat next to the bed and was watching the discussion.

Haku smiled sweetly at him. “They already know, I don’t see what they harm could be to tell them what happened.”

“Right,” Naruto muttered and turned back to the three shinobi sitting in front of him. All three were sitting patiently waiting for Naruto to decide, they weren’t going to push something that was an obvious sore spot and now that they knew they could be there for their friend and wait for when he was ready to talk about it.

He hesitated for a moment, not because he was reluctant to tell them anything but because he promise to keep somethings an absolute secret for the time being. Finally he figured he’d just leave out his heritage and tell them the rest. It was surprisingly easy to tell but there was one thing or person he hadn’t taken into account when he told his tale.

Shikamaru listened without his usual bored air. This was history he was hearing for the first time and as he took in Naruto’s story his analytical mind was as always churning; recalling information on the Yondaime Hokage, different scenarios of how and why the Hokage sealed the Kyuubi in a newborn and when he looked out the window to catch sight of the clouds the sight of the four Hokage’s caught his gaze instead and his eyes were pulled to the head of the Fourth Hokage. His eyes darted back and forth between Naruto and the stone cliff and for a moment he paused before his brain stopped on the impossible.

_Why would he do that to his own…_

“Child? Son?”

Shikamaru’s head jerked back to Naruto who had finished his sentence. He hadn’t even realized he’d spoken out loud.

“There was no choice and little time to find a better way.” He ignored the shocked looks he was getting from the three in front of him. “The Kyuubi is nothing but pure chakra and hate and anger. It can’t be killed; what else could he have done?”

When Neji made to comment he was interrupted by a nurse declaring that since he was awake it was time for a checkup and ushered everyone out of the room closing the door after they had all said goodbye to each other.

Haku held the three younger boys back for a second. “Absolutely no one can know about his father. As far as I know there are only a handful of people who know right now because it’s too dangerous.” They reassured Haku that they wouldn’t say anything to anyone and quietly left him in the hall waiting to be let back in the room.

Naruto was allowed to leave the hospital and Haku dragged him back to his and Zabuza’s apartment for the night.

…

The next day found Naruto in between Shino and Haku staring sadly at the memorial for the Third Hokage in the pouring rain. He had spent most of the night crying on Haku until he finally fell asleep. He hunched over further tired and weary, trying to block some of the rain. He turned his head to catch sight of Konohamaru sobbing next to Iruka who knelt down to hold the young boy.

It wasn’t easy to get through the service but he did it knowing that Haku was there next to him, Kakashi behind and his friends surrounding him. After, Kakashi informed him that Team 7 was going out for lunch together and invited Haku along as well know that he and Naruto had become close friends. Unfortunately Haku had to decline since he had to be back to the hospital. He gave Naruto a hug and let him know he’d be at the blonde’s place after his shift finished. When Naruto turned to catch up with his team he caught a hateful look on Sasuke’s face but when he inquired about what was wrong Sasuke ignored him and Naruto couldn’t figure out where his Sasuke went and why.

Lunch was a mostly subdued event. Kakashi took them to Ichiraku which brightened his day and he sat at the counter with a wide smile. His sensei sat on one side with Sakura on the other, he had his even present book open and she was chatting away to a silent Sasuke who was sitting next to her and he could help but to reflect on how things had changed so much in such a little bit of time. He watched Sasuke from the corner of his eye and wondered about how distant his teammate had become recently.

Naruto had thought things were getting better; he was stronger now thanks to all the help he had been getting, Sakura was no longer as hateful and though she had changed a little it seemed her crush was still present even if she had toned it down a little and Sasuke had been nicer or he thought Sasuke had changed and it hurt when every day he became more and more distant. He wondered if Sasuke still thought that he wasn’t equal to him. He looked down into his bowl of ramen with a determined frown; if that was the case he’d just have to get stronger he had a promise to keep after all.

…

Jiraiya found Naruto the next day at the same spot slurping down ramen once again. “I heard this is where you go all the time… It’s really true.”

Naruto spun around at the Sennin's voice. The older man took a seat next to Naruto. “I used to come here all the time, but Haku won’t let me anymore. He said it’s not healthy so I eat with him and Zabuza a lot and he’s teaching me how to cook. What are you doing here anyway?”

“Well Naruto we will be going after the Fourth Hokage’s Legacy. A work trip essentially; we’re looking for a certain girl.”

“Why do I have to go? I still have training to do.” Naruto asked as they walked down the road.

Jiraiya looked down at his student. “She knows some pretty amazing techniques. I’m sure we could do some training on the road.”

Naruto stopped and thought about it for a minute. It couldn’t hurt, the old man had helped him with his training before and he was supposed to be very strong. He’d miss Haku and his team but he wanted to get stronger so he nodded sharply to the man. “I’ll go pack my stuff and meet you at the gates.” He sped off without waiting for a reply.

They met at the gate a short time later and Naruto started bugging the Sennin about what he would be teaching him. As much as Naruto had changed there were some things that never would, him getting overly excited about learning a new NinJutsu would be one of those things.

It took most of the day but finally they stopped in the next nearest town for the night. At the inn Jiraiya got the room but as soon as he spotted a woman nearby, that he _thought_ was eyeing him; he tossed Naruto the key and took off leaving him alone.

He sat on the bed cross legged, practicing his chakra control and muttering to himself about his perverted, irresponsible teacher. Naruto had no idea how much time had passed before there was a knock on the door. He slowly got off the bed and stretched stiff muscles. The knocking continued and Naruto grumbled as he made his way to the door.

The first thing he saw when he opened the door was the black cloak with red clouds, then there was the scent that triggered an intense sense of Deja vu that his head jerked up too look into eyes so similar to Sasuke’s. “Urufu,” He whispered.

       

              

        

               

   

  

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a transitional chapter to show the character's thought process. It starts out in Sasuke's and then moves to Naruto's P.o.V. The chapter mainly follows the manga but not quite, as with the rest of the fic so far some things will remain the same while others change until it gradually changes altogether. My muse kicked my ass into gear so the next chapter should be up within the next few days.
> 
> Beta: angelslaugh
> 
> Disclaimer: Already been done.

**Chapter 14**

 

He left Kakashi yelling after him and went to find Naruto. He sped through the village in a panic, his thoughts a whirling blur. When he saw Naruto’s memory of his brother and heard the theory that maybe things weren’t all that they seemed; he was hopeful. After his nightmare he toned it down to cautiously optimistic even if it went against his entire being to do so. Now, remembering _that night,_ he couldn’t help but to add up the facts and they weren’t painting a pretty picture.

His brother _slaughtered_ their entire clan, he wanted Sasuke to get strong enough to kill him -  as much as he hated his brother with everything in him, he had to admit Itachi was a genius. From his point of view there was no reason for Itachi to be going after Naruto. He had been ANBU and on top of that he had been assigned as a watcher for the Kyuubi vessel so he knew what Naruto was and had an opportunity to get him before; so why? The only thing he could think was Itachi set this all up; Naruto becoming his friend, he would eventually have to kill his friend and this was Itachi’s way of testing him by going after Naruto to lure Sasuke out and see if he had gotten any stronger. Sasuke had no plans on doing anything his brother expected of him and that included getting close enough to someone like that.

Sasuke stopped at the first place he could think of, “Hey, Old Man. Naruto usually comes here for lunch. After that do you know where he went?” He said in a rush, startling Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku.

The old man rubbed at his chin thinking. “Naruto, let’s see… Jiraiya-San came in and ate with him. He said where he was going… Let’s see… He was going to leave town for a little bit, take the cattle road down to the hotel town or something. Jiraiya-san took him along when he left.”

“Jiraiya?” Sasuke asked impatiently. He had no idea who the old man was talking about.

“A great ninja. The three’s Jiraiya.” He said holding up three fingers. “Spotting him is easy. A big white haired man.”

Sasuke rushed out not even bothering to thank the man and ignored the shout after him. It wasn’t far so he took off out of the village as fast as he could, completely focused on the revenge he would take as soon as he saw his brother.

…

At the entrance to the small town he looked around, there were too many buildings to visit one by one so he hit the first inn closest to the entrance.

He slid to a stop in front of the desk slapping his hand down on the wooden top. “Is there a blonde stupid-faced guy about my age and a large white haired old man staying here?”

The man tipped his head up, “Ummm, yeah I think I know the people you’re looking for.”

“Which room?” He demanded.

“213.” The man told him sneering at the boy who rudely left at a run up the stairs.

Sasuke stopped at the door to the room, slightly out of breath and pounded on it. It seemed like it took forever for the knob to start turning and as soon as the door cracked open he pushed it in shouting his teammates name and scaring the two occupants in side. He stared in horror when he saw that the two in the room were the wrong people.

…

It took a moment for Naruto to snap out of his shock but when he opened his mouth to say something he was interrupted. “However, could this child really be the Kyuubi?”

Naruto’s gaze jumped to the taller person behind the Uchiha who had spoken. He looked completely unnatural. He looked like a shark in human form and his eyes darted between the two in front of him.

“Naruto, we would like you to come with us.” The older Uchiha said monotonously.

Naruto stared up at him. His face was completely blank but his eyes seemed as if he were trying to convey something, only Naruto couldn’t tell what and when Itachi’s eyes quickly jumped to the direction of the person still standing behind him, he almost missed it.

Naruto knew he was smart and more than often he was oblivious to body language but there was something going on here. He knew this man long ago and he had been kind and a good ninja. Naruto had liked him and felt safe in his presence. He still felt that way even staring into those Sharingan eyes, but the man behind him raised the hair on the back of his neck. So he went with his instincts; Naruto could only conclude that Itachi was here for him on another’s behalf and the man behind him was keeping an eye on Itachi or something.

They could have just grabbed him, he obviously wasn’t strong enough to face one never mind both of them but Itachi had asked him to come along. Was he waiting for Naruto to escape or for someone to show up and save him?

“Come out of the room.” He spoke once again in that slow emotionless way and Naruto didn’t move a muscle hoping like hell that Jiraiya would show up soon because it looked like Itachi couldn’t give himself away and let Naruto go but was wasting as much time as possible.

“Itachi, it’s time we got started.” The strange shrake-like man reached up to grasp the hilt of a sword strapped to his back. “We don’t need him running off. We should cut off a leg.”

Naruto’s eyes widened in fear but he made his way into the hall slowly, trying to prolong them taking him for as long as possible. They moved back out of the doorway and he stood looking up at them fearfully. Itachi did nothing but had Naruto not been watching him as close as he was, he would have missed the minute change in the man.

“It has been a while, Sasuke.”

Naruto’s eyed his teammate standing at the end of the hall. Why was he there and how did he know where to find them. He shouldn’t have been there when they still hadn’t figured out what was going on with Itachi and he hoped Sasuke wouldn’t do anything stupid but that hope was in vain when he saw the utter hatred on his face.

“Itachi Uchiha.” His voice dripped with disgust and contempt.

“Today is a special day indeed. This is the second time I’ve seen another Sharingan.” The blue man mused aloud.

“I will. Kill you.” Sasuke’s words were nothing but a growl as he ignored anything but his hated brother.

“You seem to be familiar with Itachi.” The shark man said over his shoulder at Sasuke. “Who is this guy.” He said to his partner without waiting for a reply from the younger Uchiha.

“He’s my… younger brother.”

The taller man looked surprised by that. “I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out… By you.”

Once again Sasuke ignored the byplay between his brother and the unknown man. To him Itachi was all that mattered here. “I’ve been wanting to say this to you… I’ve lived hating you and I’ve lived to only kill you.” He raised his hand and channeled his chakra forming the chidori. “I have lived for this.” He screamed the words, his eyes holding gleam of madness.

He ran at Itachi, gouging the wall of the inn as he rapidly made his way to his brother. Itachi had no intention of moving and as soon as Sasuke was within reach, he grabbed the younger boys forearm stopping him in his tracks.

Naruto had been scared before but now he was terrified. He had no idea what was going on but he knew he had to stop them until he had more information so he reached for the Kyuubi’s chakra and began channeling it. He heard the murmur of Sasuke and Itachi’s voices but paid no attention to them until he heard the distinct sound of bone snapping. “Sasuke!” Naruto shouted, his voice wavering with fear. He hadn’t gathered nearly enough chakra to summon any one of the helpful toads but he could hold off no longer, even if this only helped to distract them long enough for he and Sasuke to get away.

Naruto started the hand signs for the summoning jutsu,” Ninpou. Kuchiyose no-” He was interrupted by the swipe of a huge sword. However the swing of that sword not only cut off his jutsu, he now couldn’t feel any of the chakra he just gathered.

“My Samehada eats chakra.” Naruto looked up at the unnamed ninja, shocked. He had no idea that was possible. “Now that your jutsu is gone you should be no problem. First, should I chop off an arm or cut off a leg?” Naruto had no time to even take a step back before that sword was once again swinging his way.

He did jump back in surprise when a toad twice the size of him, appeared between him and the shark guy, stopping his sword in mid swing. Then he hears a familiar voice behind him. “You don’t seem to know very much about me… I’m better at getting girls than they are at trying to get me. Even though it doesn’t look like it, It’s my specialty. Naruto smiled slightly; leave it to the pervert to be conversational about women in a dangerous situation.

“I, Jiraiya, the epitome of manliness, will fall for no women’s wiles. When you’re someone like me, you only have to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet.”

Naruto wanted to shake his head in exasperation or slap the man behind him for his proclamation. He was guessing that either the women had been a distraction or the pervert had struck out. He looked over his shoulder at the Sennin. The woman was thrown over one large shoulder, out cold. Distraction then.

“So it’s one of the legendary three ninja, the great Jiraiya eh? You like beautiful women but we weren’t thinking that such a simple method could successfully stall you anyway.” The man grinned showing off a mouth full of needle sharp teeth. “In any case, it seems you have already undone the Genjutsu binding the woman.”

The old man gently removed the woman and set he down to lean against the wall out of the way. “You guys wanted to draw me away so you used the Sharingan to cast a Genjutsu on a woman, huh? Not a very manly way of doing things.” He said conversationally, stepping back up behind Naruto. “So you really are after Naruto?”

Having it said so blatantly sent a frown to Naruto’s face. He already knew they were after him this was just confirmation after the fact, but that still didn’t clear anything up for him. He knew Itachi knew about the Kyuubi and had for years and Itachi had plenty of opportunities to get him when he was in ANBU or even the night he left the village. There were too many questions and no answers. It was something that Naruto was going to have to talk through with the pervert, maybe a fresh set of eyes would be able to see what he was missing.

“No wonder Kakashi knew about this, you were the source of information.” Itachi’s words were soft spoken, almost thoughtful. “To abduct Naruto. Those were the orders given to us by the higher echelons of our organization, Akatsuki.”

Naruto’s frown deepened. It wasn’t much but why would they give the enemy more information and it was obvious that Jiraiya knew more than naruto had thought so talking to the old man was a must at this point.

Jiraiya scowled, “You won’t get Naruto.”

“And why not?” Itachi replied once again emotionless.

“Because right here and right now you two will die by my hands.”

“Don’t do it,” Naruto sighed softly. Everyone called him the idiot but even as terrified as he was he could still see that he was no match for these men, why couldn’t Sasuke see that after he just got his arm broken and that was after his brother stopped the Chidori.

“This guy is mine.” Naruto couldn’t understand how anyone could hate to the point that their words reflected the feeling.

Itachi’s eyes narrowed down at Sasuke and Naruto knew that this wasn’t going to end well. Sasuke should have just stayed down, because at this point it looked like he was forcing Itachi’s hand. The older Uchiha hand made no move to do anything until Sasuke attacked first. “I have absolutely no interest in you right now.” He kicked his leg out, throwing the younger boy into the wall.

Naruto couldn’t stop his teammates name from passing his lips. Naruto took a step forward, intending to bypass both ninja to check on Sasuke but was stopped. “Naruto, I told you don’t. This fight is mine.” He was taken aback by all that hatred turned his way.

He just wanted to make sure his friend was okay; he was still sitting there with blood dripping down his chin and he was provoking Itachi. “Come on!” When Itachi started walking slowly towards his brother Naruto’s breathing picked up, his heart was pound in fear for Sasuke. All Itachi did though was punch him in the stomach, he wasn’t putting any effort into subduing Sasuke.

“No mercy at all.” The comment was paired with an amused chuckle.

Naruto didn’t see it that way at all and as much as he wanted to stop what was going on he had to grit his teeth and watch, cataloging everything in the back of his mind. He watched Sasuke slump to the ground and then Itachi picking him up by his neck to stare him in the eye. In a split second Sasuke screamed.

“Itachi I would advise you against using your eye so many times in a single day.” There was no concern or worry when the other man spoke, only fact. Sasuke had stopped screaming and Naruto wanted badly to go to him and make sure he was alright.

Finally though the pervert behind him did something, “Ninpou. Gama Guchi Shibari.” Naruto’s head swung back and forth, the walls, ceiling and floor had turned a nasty pink color and looked squishy; not that he wanted to reach out and touch them. And Jiraiya’s next words turned his own stomach. “Too bad Itachi...Kisame. You’re already in my stomach. Black magic to summon the esophagus of the giant toad from Myoboku Mountain Rock Inn. You wanted criminals, I hope you enjoy being food for Iwagama.”

Naruto was having trouble staying upright because of the gently undulating mass of tissue beneath him and he was working very hard not to think about just what he was standing on. “Naruto stay still. Don’t worry it’s just my jutsu.” Jiraiya reassured.

Itachi had spun quickly towards his partner, “Kisame come.”

Kisame took a step to follow Itachi before he realized his sword was being held fast by the flesh below them. “Shit.” He jerked it free and held it away from the walls and floor as he rushed to Itachi’s side.

“No one sneaks away from here without my awareness.” Jiraiya said lowly and then the walls started closing in as Itachi and Kisame sped down the hall away from them. For a moment it looked as if they would be caught but somehow they got free and from the look of jiraiya he wasn’t sure how. When the older man opened the closed portion of flesh, the hall was completely empty and there was a large hole where they escaped through. They approached the hole to find the edges of it burning with black fire. It didn’t matter how close Naruto got to it there was no heat and he was scolded by the pervert when he got too close.

He moved back to stand in front of Jiraiya when he knelt down and pulled out a scroll and brush. He watched in fascination as he painted out a seal and then sealed the black fire in the scroll. He stood back up and tucked the scroll into his Haori. “Well now, everyone alright then?”

Naruto startled, he had forgot about Sasuke. “Sasuke?” There was no answer and he ran to where Sasuke was stuck in the still pink wall. “Sasuke!” He yelled as Jiraiya released his jutsu and the walls went back to normal causing Sasuke to slide down and slump to the floor. Naruto knelt next to the younger Uchiha and placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes were open and he was breathing but there was no response from the boy. He tilted his head to look him in the face and pulled in a sharp breath at Sasuke’s absolutely blank eyes. Before they could do anything though there was a loud shout and green blur. “Dynamic Entry!”

“Gai?” Jiraiya exclaimed in surprise just as he was knocked back by a kick. Jiraiya sat up and glared at the green clad ninja.

Gai rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry for the direct attack. I was in a rush and using my Hitai-Ate as a mirror and I didn’t mean it. The reflection didn’t give a clear picture so I hit you by accident.”

“You didn’t do it on purpose? Well that’s alright then but Sasuke needs to get to a hospital. He seems to have a broken rib and for some reason the Sharingan cause a mind attack to make him lose his senses.”

Naruto looked up at the white haired man worriedly. “Is Sasuke going to be okay?”

Jiraiya frowned, “He took a tolerable amount of mental damage.”

“The same thing happened to Kakashi,” Gai told them unusually serious.

“Kakashi-Sensei.” Naruto said loudly his mouth getting away from him once again.

“He has to stay in bed until his senses return. When students are injured… Well, this time I think it’s harmed his mind. Medical care specialists should be around in case this should continue to happen, don’t you think?” Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at Gai and Naruto had a feeling that once again he was missing something.

Gai placed Sasuke on his back and they followed him out of the Inn. He stopped and turned toward them, “Please find Tsunade and bring her back.” Naruto figure that whoever it was they were talking about could help Sasuke and Kakashi.

“Don’t worry we’ll find her just please take care of Sasuke, bushy brows.”

Gai leaned down, “Naruto, you’ve got guts kid. I like that. I’m giving this to you.” He reach into his Jounin vest and tossed something to the blonde. Naruto held up a jumpsuit just like Gai’s and Lee’s and his face faltered. He didn’t hesitate to ignore the enthusiastic speech about it and then thanked the man politely after. Naruto watched him make his way back to the village while he and Jiraiya continued on with their mission.                      

  

     

 

 


	15. Urgent A/N

I apologize for the log awaited next chapter but unfortunately I will not have a new chapter up any time soon. I have recently found out my husband of 12 years has been having an affair and I need to take time to get my life together. While writing is my escape from real life, I just will not have the time to continue right now. I have no plans to abandon my fics and I hope that I will be back on my feet sooner rather than later. I thank you all for your understand in this trying time and once again I am sorry.


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's taken a little while to get my groove back but I finally finished this chapter. I tried not to make it too boring but we have to establish the plot line. I did however add a little sneak peak into the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I do hope you all enjoy and thank you to everyone who left wonderful comments and have been so patient while I was working my way through a tough time in my life.

**Chapter 15**

 

Two Konoha shinobi leisurely made their way to the next town; Jiraiya watched Naruto from the corner of his eye as he got lost in thought. After some time it looked as if he had come to some sort of decision and stopped walking. He looked over his shoulder at the boy, “What is it?”

“Itachi is part of a group called Akatsuki right?”

He turned to face Naruto, “Right.”

“And they’re after me?”

“They’re not so much after _you_ as they are after what’s _inside_ you.” Jiraiya was expecting this line of questioning so it was easy enough to answer but what he didn’t expect was the reply he got.

“That doesn’t make sense.” He said with a confused look.

“What do you mean? There are a lot of people who would love to get their hands on you for what you carry.”

Naruto folded his hands behind the back of his head and tipped his head to the sky. His thoughts briefly flitted to Shikamaru when he saw the sky full of fluffy white clouds before he answered the question. “Well, Itachi was the one to wipe out the Uchiha clan and I’m assuming that he went to the Akatsuki when he left the village, right?” He waited for confirmation then continued. “He was part of the ANBU assigned to watch me when I was little so he knew about the Kyuubi, he knew where I lived and all of my habits. I saw him the night it happened and he asked me to look after Sasuke. He was upset. So things aren’t quite adding up to me.”

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed. This was something he was going to have to think over but he needed to get the whole story because he had a gut feeling that wasn’t all Naruto knew. He turned back in the direction they had been heading and motioned for Naruto to walk with him. “Start from the beginning because there sounds like you’ve left a lot out of that story and I’ll need to hear it all in order to let you know my opinion.”

They resumed their leisurely pace, “Well it happened like this…”

…

By the time they reached the large bustling town Naruto had given Jiraiya enough to ponder over and left him to his thoughts for the time being. He did want to know what the pervert knew about this organization and why they could possibly want him or the Kyuubi as the case may be.

Jiraiya on the other hand couldn’t help the fact that his thoughts were stuck on how Naruto now knew everything but it hadn’t hindered him at all. In fact the information seemed to make him all the more determined to learn and evened his temperament somewhat. He would have to talk to Kakashi when they got back to the village but Naruto was doing well with what he knew and keeping to himself as he should be.

Once he got past that train of thought though he became worried. What Naruto had told him about his ANBU watcher, the night of the Uchiha massacre and Itachi Uchiha had him concerned and he conceded that his Godson was correct, something was not adding up and this was something he would have to discuss with the next Hokage; he only hoped they could convince Tsunade to take the hat.

Jiraiya ruffled the blonde’s messy hair and entered the town heading to the nearest inn, Naruto following close behind. Once inside the room they laid the packs down and he motioned for the boy to sit on the bed across from him. “I need some time to gather information about what you’ve told me so just be patient. In the meantime I’m assuming that Kakashi has told you some about your Dad?”

Naruto swallowed and averted his eyes, “A little but I try not to push, he always looks so sad when he talks about Mom and Dad.”

“Well, first I must apologize for not being there for you until now.”

Naruto shook his head interrupting the older man. “It’s okay. Kakashi explained a bit about you, my Godmother and the Council so I understand...Just please don’t” He ducked his head; embarrassment warring with anger in his mind and he didn’t continue. _Don’t leave me alone again_ was what he wanted to say but to be honest he wasn’t alone anymore but this was different. Jiraiya wasn’t his teammate like Sasuke and Sakura; he wasn’t a close friend or confidant or support like Haku; and he wasn’t family like Kakashi, even though he knew just as much if not more about his life and his parents. He was more than all of that and he didn’t look at him with contempt or pity or unending sadness and so he said nothing for fear of looking childish or weak in front of him.

Jiraiya reached over and ruffled Naruto’s blonde spikes and answered the unasked question. “You’re stuck with me now kid. Minato and Kushina would probably kick my ass if I didn’t teach you everything I knew and we are going to start now so follow me.” The older man stood and heard Naruto scramble to keep up with Jiraiya as he left the room and led the boy to just outside the town walls.

Naruto begged and pleaded to know what they were doing the whole way but when Jiraiya refused to tell him he pouted sullenly until they finally stopped.  Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet while waiting anxiously for Jiraiya to start his explanation. Instead he held his hand out in front of him with his palm facing the sky. Naruto cocked his head; his eyes darting between Jiraiya’s hand and his face. Just as he was about to start questioning the older man again _something_ happened. Jiraiya’s chakra became visible, Naruto’s eyes widened in awe as the chakra was formed into a tightly compressed bright blue ball and with a speed that belied the man’s height and bulk, Jiraiya flashed to the nearest tree and thrust it into the trunk.

With a loud crack the ball went _through_ the tree leaving a perfectly round hole on one side and when Naruto walked around to the other side he goggled at destruction left behind. He lifted his eyes to Jiraiya's smirking face. “Please tell me you’re gonna teach me that and that you are not just showing off?” Naruto screeched.

Jiraiya threw his head back and laughed loudly, when he finally quieted he looked down at his little protege; mirth shining in his eyes. “I had always planned to teach you the Rasengan but now that you know who your parents are I can tell you why.” He pointed at the hole in the tree, “That was called the Rasengan and your Father is the one who created it.”

“So cool.” Naruto looked up at his mentor, his eyes just a little misty. “What about mom?”

Jiraiya rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, “Your mother never created a Jutsu but she did have something specific to the Uzumaki female line called Chakra Chains and not every female inherited them. I do have what’s left of her personal Fuuinjutsu books so I’ll make you a deal; once you have mastered the Rasengan I will give you the first book so that you can start learning the theory and some of the most basic seals.”

Naruto grinned wide and bright; he ran forward to squeeze the older man around his middle, “Thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ ”

Jiraiya chuckled and ruffled the unruly sunny blonde hair. “Now ready to get started?”

Naruto listened carefully to Jiraiya’s explanation of the three steps needed to form the Rasengan and paid close attention to the demonstration of the first step. It was when he grabbed a water balloon that he noticed the large bag of them resting at Jiraiya’s feet, before he handed over a water balloon for Naruto to start with.

The two spent the rest of the day traveling to the next small town all the while Naruto kept repeating the first step in his head and trying to replicate it with the balloon. It was slow and difficult going and by the time they made it to the next Inn, Naruto had made very little progress and went to be slightly dejected but still determined.

He lay awake that night wishing Haku had been with them, the older boy had a way of explaining thing to Naruto during their training that made everything much easier.

…

Naruto woke as he usually did early in the morning before Jiraiya who was still snoring away. He made sure to be quiet enough that he didn’t wake the man and left to room to take care of his morning ablutions. Watching the water swirl down the drain while washing his hands gave him an idea and he quickly left the bathroom to get dressed a back to training.

Jiraiya found him a few hours later standing in a clearing. Naruto had figure out how to get his chakra to rotate just moments before Jiraiya showed up, “Ero Sennin, I did it. I got the water to spin.” Naruto shouted out excitedly.

“That’s great. Now I think I’ll take a little nap.” Jiraiya declared.

Naruto gaped at the man, “How could you take a nap now?” He shook his head in exasperation. Jiraiya ignored Naruto and went to lay down in the shade of a tree and promptly fell asleep.

_A pervert and lazy,_ Naruto thought. He focused back on the water balloon - he may have completed one step but he was far from finished.

An hour later, Naruto was becoming frustrated. He shouted at the balloon in aggravation and woke up Jiraiya accidently. Naruto had forgotten he was even there.

“How are you doing?” Naruto looked over his shoulder at him, his frustration clear. Jiraiya pouted at the boy. “Seems I won’t be getting that nap.” He stood up stretching and approached Naruto.

“Since you’re awake can you tell me how to get this to break?”  Naruto asked holding out the balloon.

“I can’t give you a full explanation until you break that…” He peered at Naruto intently then chuckled lightly. “I understand. You’re a hands on learner; normally you’d go through trial and error until you figured it out on your own.” The older man rubbed his hands together, “Let’s see; maintain the spin of the water.”

Naruto focused on the balloon once again until the water began spinning inside. “Yes?”

“Now visualize, right or left. Which way is it rotating?”

“Only to the left.”

“Good, you’re coming along nicely.” Jiraiya ruffled Naruto’s hair. “For this lesson, spin the water in the balloon in the opposite direction of your own rotation using energy. The chakra flow will be disrupted when it’s not in harmony with the rotation.”

Naruto thought about what he was told, “So you’re saying I need to use the energy of right rotation for the spin and it won’t work without that type of energy.”

“Correct. All you need to do is a jutsu without the sign. Gather chakra like you would if you were going to use a jutsu but don’t do it, just the chakra is enough.”

Naruto nodded, he only understood about half of what Jiraiya said but he’d try it anyway. “How long did it take dad to master this?” He asked as an afterthought.

“Three years.” Jiraiya told him seriously.

Naruto looked down to the balloon in his hand. _Three years,_ he couldn’t help thinking to himself and he couldn’t help wonder if it took his dad, a man proclaimed to be a genius, three years to master this jutsu; just how long would it take him.

Jiraiya startled Naruto from his thoughts, “Well I’m going back to the Inn.”

“I’ll stay here for a while longer.”

Jiraiya threw a wave over his shoulder, “Well then, don’t overexert yourself.”

…

Naruto spent the rest of the day and well into the night trying to break the balloon with no success. He lay in bed pondering once again over what he was doing and what he needed to do until he fell asleep.

He woke up the next morning and found the Inn’s cat pawing at one of the balloons. He watched the cat, absentmindedly and still half asleep, bat the balloon back and forth between its paws. It had been three days and he still hadn’t gotten the balloon to break, if he had been anyone else the daunting task of learning a jutsu that had taken a genius 3 years to master, would have had him giving up; but he was Naruto Uzumaki and giving up was not in his nature.

A pop and loud meow shook Naruto from his stupor, the cat darted off down the hall while Naruto’s eyes widened in realization. Like the prankster he was, Naruto turned and ran back into his and Jiraiya’s shared room yelling for the pervert to wake up; and when that didn’t work like he knew it wouldn’t. Naruto held a full water balloon over Jiraiya’s sleeping face and proceeded to use his chakra to break it.

Jiraiya woke with a loud spluttering cough, “First stage cleared.” Naruto told his bleary eyed mentor gleefully.

…

Haku wandered the halls of the hospital sedately making his way to the Uchiha’s room to check his vitals and wondered when Naruto was due to return. The blonde had only been gone a few days and already it was too quiet without him around.

The teen slide the door to Sasuke’s room open and paused in the doorway when he caught sight of Shikamaru sitting at his bedside, book in hand.

When Shikamaru looked up Haku bowed his head in greeting and closed the door behind him. The room was silent while Haku checked Sasuke’s vitals and noted them in his chart. He hung the chart back in its place and moved to the opposite side of the bed. “Where is Sakura? She’s usually the one here about this time.”

Shikamaru shifted in his chair laying the book in his lap and leaning back to get more comfortable. Haku glanced down at Shikamaru’s hands resting on the book, then back up into curious brown eyes.

“She was heading back home for lunch. I met her in the hall on her way out.” He replied his tone just as lazy as usual.

Haku nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, noting the Nara following his every move. “May I ask you a question?”

Shikamaru smirked at the obvious reply but said nothing, only nodding his assent.

“From what I’ve heard and observed, you are not a friend of Sasuke’s so I’m a little curious about why you are here at his bedside.”

“I’ve never really had a conversation with him.”Shikamaru confirmed. “It would have been too troublesome to go out of my way to see how he was doing but Choji is here once again so I was here visiting. I just stopped by so that I could give Naruto an update when he gets back. Sasuke is not my friend but he is Naruto’s.” He let out a gusty sigh, as if speaking so much exhausted him.

Haku smiled, knowing the lazy ninja, it probably had. “Do you have any idea when Naruto might be back?”

“According to my Father; a couple weeks at most. The village can’t go too long without a Hokage. From what I understand though, Tsunade may prove to be a bit of trouble since she left and has refused to ever come back to the village.” Shikamaru stood and approached Haku.

Haku huffed in amusement. “If anyone can get her to come back it would be Naruto.”

Shikamaru smiled a bit more genuinely. “My shift is over, why don’t I treat you to lunch. I seem to be craving ramen all of a sudden.” Haku said, smiling back at the Nara.

Shikamaru chuckled but followed the teen out of the hospital. The way he figured it, this was the person Naruto was closest to now and it might be a good idea to get to know him a bit better. Even if just for Naruto. Troublesome blonde.


End file.
